[Flávio Bittencourt]

Em memória de Dona Erline Harris (1914 - 2004)

Mito do rhythm and blues, se não fosse em razão dos preciosos estudos de Dale Comminey e John Broven, a cantora poderosa permaneceria desconhecida por milhões de apreciadores e estudiosos da música popular dos EUA, do séc. 20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ( Gildygury Jan 

em eddd)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dª. Erline Harris (1914 - 2004):

 

 

 

 

 

 

(http://bestnicknametees.com/girls-names/letter-e-girls/earline/)

 

 

 

 

 

Erline Harris "Rock And Roll Blues" recorded 1949,

Youtube:

Enviado em 05/11/2011

 

Erline "Rock And Roll" Harris cut this in 1949.

 

 

 "DIREITOS CIVIS

(http://blogs.estadao.com.br/roldao-arruda/)

 

 

 

 

 

Bill Jennings - Stompin' With Bill,

Youtube:

 

Publicado em 07/09/2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erline Harris - Jump and Shout,

Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPaHNYNhRzk

 

Publicado em 07/09/2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                       Brayan Yanarico Capcha, o garoto boliviano que foi assassinado 

                             com um tiro na cabeça, recentemente, no Brasil:

                                       as próximas 7 matérias são para que você, Brayan,

                                       seja acalentado também pelas vozes das 7 pessoas mais queridas

                                       no âmbito dessa Coluna Recontando..., enquanto, pela vontade de Deus,

                                       ascende, com glória, à vida eterna, per omnia saecula saeculorum:

                                       SRA. ERLINE HARRIS

                                       SRA. CLEMENTINA DE JESUS

=== EM EDIÇÃO ===

 

(http://www.pavablog.com/2013/06/28/mae-diz-que-menino-de-5-anos-pediu-a-assaltantes-para-nao-morrer/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pavablog+(PavaBlog))

 

 

 

 

 

(http://www.pavablog.com/2013/06/28/mae-diz-que-menino-de-5-anos-pediu-a-assaltantes-para-nao-morrer/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pavablog+(PavaBlog))

 

 

 

 

 

 

"NÓS RESPEITAMOS E ATÉ APOIAMOS O ATUAL 

VICE-PRESIDENTE DO BRASIL, UMA

VEZ QUE A TRANSIÇÃO DEVE ACONTECER DA

FORMA MAIS PACÍFICA E ORDEIRA QUE FOR

POSSÍVEL"

(C R...)

 

 

 

 

 

2.7.2013 -    F.

 

 

 

Erline Harris

 

 

===

 

 

 

The Chess Label 
Part I (1950-1952)

© George R. White, Robert L. Campbell, and Tom Kelly

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Latest revision: June 5, 2013

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Revision note: A little more linking and cleanup.

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On June 3, 1950, Leonard and Phil Chess, now the sole owners of Aristocrat Recording Corporation, changed the name of the label to Chess. They launched a new series of releases at number 1425, commemorating their family's first home in Chicago, which was located at 1425 South Karlov Street.

Of the first 8 releases on the new label (Chess 1425 through 1432), 6 used material recorded in June 1950 or earlier; they mark a transitional phase from Aristocrat to Chess. During the new label's first two years, its proprietors dipped continually, but not very systematically, into the Aristocrat archives. Meanwhile, the Aristocrat records that they had in stock kept on being distributed until January 13, 1951, when the old label was officially discontinued. Leonard and Phil Chess made ample use of older Gene Ammons sides, reissuing several of his Aristocrat singles, but showed no apparent interest in older Muddy Waters performances. Muddy's only Aristocrat-era side to be reissued on Chess during this period was his 1948 hit "I Can't Be Satisfied," hastily retitled to serve as the flip side to Chess 1514. After the middle of 1952, Aristocrat material ceased to be of interest; it would not draw attention again until Chess took up the LP in 1956.

Our first table displays material recorded for Aristocrat, up through the founding of Chess Records on June 3, 1950. Every session for Aristocrat is included that led to releases on Chess singles. Through the middle of 1952, when they lost interest in the back catalog, the Chess brothers mined it for 27 sides (25 if we count only releases that are known to have taken place; Chess 1483 by the Blues Rockers appears to have been cancelled). When the material was previously released on Aristocrat, we give the Aristocrat release number in square brackets, but the release dates are for the Chess incarnations only. You can find the Aristocrat release dates on our Aristocrat page.

We mark matrix numbers in bold when we have been able to verify them from the actual releases.

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One of the many early Chess sides drawn from the Aristocrat vaults. From the collection of Tom Kelly.

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From the Big Joe Louis collection.

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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From the collection of Robert L. Campbell

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Aristocrat sessions (1947-1950) reissued on Chess

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
U 7028	Tom Archia and his All Stars (vocal: Sheba Griffin)	Mean and Evil Daddy [Mean and Evil Baby]	Chess 1448 [Aristocrat 601A]	July 1947	January 1951
U 7029	Tom Archia and his All Stars (vocal: George Kirby)	Ice Man Blues	[Aristocrat 602A]	July 1947
U 7030	Tom Archia and his All Stars (vocal: Sheba Griffin)	Cherry	[Aristocrat 602B]	July 1947
U 7031	Tom Archia and his All Stars (vocal: Buster Bennett)	Fishin' Pole	[Aristocrat 601B]	July 1947
U 7036	Seven Melody Men	Rockin' Lord	[Aristocrat 901A]	August 1947
U 7037	Seven Melody Men	Nobody Knows - Nobody Cares	[Aristocrat 901B]	August 1947
U-7038	Four-A-Melody Men [Seven Melody Men]	I'm on My Way	Chess 1475 [Aristocrat 902A]	August 1947	August 1951
U-7039	Four-A-Melody Men [Seven Melody Men]	Mother Pray for Me	Chess 1475 [Aristocrat 902B]	August 1947	August 1951
U 7070	Tom Archia and his All Stars	Jam for Sam	[Aristocrat 603B]	October 1947
U7071	Tom Archia and his All Stars	Macomba Jump	[Aristocrat 604B]	October 1947
U7072	Tom Archia and his All Stars	Downfall Blues	[Aristocrat 605]	October 1947
U7073 [reverb added]	Tom Archia and his All Stars	Blues at Twilight [Slumber]	Chess 1448 [Aristocrat 603A]	October 1947	January 1951
U-7094	Jimmy Bell's Trio | Vocal by Jimmie Bell	Just about Easter Time	[Aristocrat 1901A]	December 1947
U-7095	Jimmy Bell's Trio | Vocal by Jimmie Bell	Jimmy's Swing Boogie	[Aristocrat 1901B]	December 1947
UB 7096 [sic]	Jimmy Bell's Trio | Vocal by Jimmy Bell	Me and My Baby	Chess 1427	December 1947	June or July 1950
UB-7097 [sic]	Jimmy Bell's Trio | Vocal by Jimmy Bell	If You Believe in Me	Chess 1427	December 1947	June or July 1950
U7108	Muddy Waters	Good Lookin' Woman	(Chess LP 80002)	December 1947
U7109	Muddy Waters	Mean Disposition	(Chess LP 9180)	December 1947
U7110	Sunnyland Slim with Muddy Waters	She Ain't Nowhere	[Aristocrat 1304A]	December 1947
U7111	Sunnyland Slim with Muddy Waters	My Baby, My Baby	[Aristocrat 1304B]	December 1947
[U7112] U-7112	[Muddy Waters with rythm [sic] accompaniment] Muddy Waters and his Guitar	[I Can't Be Satisfied] Looking for My Baby	[Aristocrat 1305A] Chess 1514	December 1947	June 1952
U7113	Muddy Waters with rythm [sic] accompaniment	I Feel like Going Home	[Aristocrat 1305B]	December 1947
U7127	Nighthawks (vocal: Ethel Mae)	Down the Line	(Chess [Br] 6499 433)	July or August 1948 (mastered November 10, 1948)
U7128	Nighthawks (vocal: Ethel Mae)	Handsome Lover	(Chess [E] 6499 433)	July or August 1948
U7129	Nighthawks (vocal: Robert McCullum)	Return Mail Blues	unissued	July or August 1948
U-7130	Robert Nighthawk	My Sweet Lovin' Woman	Chess 1484	July or August 1948	December 1951
U7140?	Tom Archia and his All Stars	Jam for Boppers	(Chess LP 1445)	early October, 1948
U7141	Gene Ammons with Tom Archia [Tom Archia and his All Stars]	Boppin' for Santa [Swinging for Christmas]	Chess 1445 [Aristocrat 606]	early October, 1948 (mastered October 12, 1948)	December 1950
U7142	Gene Ammons with Tom Archia [Tom Archia and his All Stars]	Talk of the Town	Chess 1445 [Aristocrat 606]	early October, 1948	December 1950
U7143?	Tom Archia and his All Stars	The Battle	(Chess CHV 414)	early October, 1948
U-7174	Christine Chatman's All Star Combo With "Gene Ammons" On Tenor| Vocal: Christine Chatman	Hey Mr. Freddy	[Aristocrat 8001B]	February 28, 1949
U-7175	Vocal by Christine Chatman with Gene Ammons and his Sextet	Do You Really Mean It	Chess 1428	February 28, 1949	July 1950
U7176	Gene Ammons?		unissued?	February 28, 1949
U-7177	Christine Chatman's All Star Combo With "Gene Ammons" On Tenor| Vocal: Christine Chatman	When Your Hair Has Turned to Silver	[Aristocrat 8001A]	February 28, 1949
U7178	Gene Ammons?	?	unissued?	February 28, 1949
U-7179	Gene Ammons and his Sextet | Vocal: Mary F. Graham	Bless You	Chess 1425	February 28, 1949	June 1950
U-7180	Three O'Clock Jam Session | Leo Blivers [sic] Guitar, Ike Day Drums, Gene Ammons Tenor Sax, Christine Chatman Piano, Lowell Pointer Bass	Part 1 (Stuffy)	[Aristocrat AR-711A]	February 28, 1949
U-7181	Gene Ammons Orchestra [Three O'Clock Jam Session]	Once in a While [Part 2 (Once in a While)]	Chess 1525 [Aristocrat AR-711B]	February 28, 1949	September 1952
UB 9549	Rev. "Gatemouth" Moore and his Congregation	The Bible's Being Fulfilled Every Day	[Aristocrat 905A]	April or May 1949 [United Broadcasting Studio]
UB 9550	Rev. "Gatemouth" Moore and his Congregation	Glory, Glory, Hallelujah	[Aristocrat 905B]	April or May 1949 [United Broadcasting Studio]
UB-9551	Rev. Gatemouth Moore	I'm Going Through	Chess 1437	April or May 1949 [United Broadcasting Studio]	October 1950
UB-9552	Rev. Gatemouth Moore	Thank You Jesus	Chess 1437	April or May 1949 [United Broadcasting Studio]	October 1950
UB9720 [purchased from John Coppage]	Floyd Smith	Blue Moods	Chess 1439 [Aristocrat 409]	June 8, 1949 [United Broadcasting Studio]	November 1950
UB9721 [purchased from John Coppage]	Floyd Smith	Saturday Night Boogie	Chess 1439 [Aristocrat 409]	June 8, 1949 [United Broadcasting Studio]	November 1950
U7194	The Nighthawks (vocal: Robert McCullum)	She Knows How to Love a Man	(Blues Ball LP 2003)	July 12, 1949
U7195	The Nighthawks (vocal: Robert McCullum)	Black Angel Blues	[Aristocrat 2301B]	July 12, 1949
U7196	The Nighthawks (vocal: Robert McCullum)	Annie Lee Blues	[Aristocrat 2301A]	July 12, 1949
U-7197	Robert Nighthawk	Return Mail Blues	Chess 1484	July 12, 1949	December 1951
U7198	The Nighthawks (vocal: Ethel Mae)	Sugar Papa	(Chess [Br] 6499 433)	July 12, 1949
U7231	Gene Ammons and his Orchestra	Pennies from Heaven	Chess 1431 [Aristocrat 411A]	January 8, 1950	August 1950
U7232	Gene Ammons and his Orchestra	The Last Mile	Chess 1431 [Aristocrat 411B]	January 8, 1950	August 1950
U-7233	Gene Ammons and His Sextet	Chabootie	Chess 1429 [Aristocrat 416]	January 8, 1950	July 1950
U7234	Gene Ammons and His Sextet	Full Moon [correct title: More Moon]	Chess 1429 [Aristocrat 416]	January 8, 1950	July 1950
U7235	Muddy Waters	Rollin' and Tumblin' (Part 1)	[Aristocrat 412A]	February 1950
U7236	Muddy Waters	Rollin' and Tumblin' (Part 2)	[Aristocrat 412B]	February 1950
U-7237	Muddy Waters and his guitar	Rollin' Stone	Chess 1426	February 1950	June 1950
U-7237 [alt.]	Muddy Waters	Rollin' Stone [alt.]	(Chess LP 8202)	February 1950
U-7238	Muddy Waters and his guitar	Walkin' Blues	Chess 1426	February 1950	June 1950
U-7239	Blues Rockers	When Times Are Getting Better	[Aristocrat 413 [!]]	March 5, 1950
U-7240	Blues Rockers	Blues Rockers' Bop	[Aristocrat 413 [!]]	March 5, 1950
U7241	The Blues Rockers	Little Boy, Little Boy	Chess 1483 (cancelled)  [Aristocrat 417?]	March 5, 1950	December 1951
U7242	The Blues Rockers	My Mama's Baby Child	Chess 1483 (cancelled)  [Aristocrat 417?]	March 5, 1950	December 1951
7247	Gene Ammons and His Orchestra	Tenor Eleven	Chess 1525	May 2, 1950	September 1952
U-7248	Gene Ammons and His Sextet	Good Bye	Chess 1428	May 2, 1950	July 1950
U7249	Gene Ammons and His Sextet	You Go to My Head	(Chess LP 1442)	May 2, 1950
U-7250	Gene Ammons and His Sextet	My Foolish Heart	Chess 1425	May 2, 1950	June 1950

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From the collection of Billy Vera

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From the collection of Robert L. Campbell

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The Chess brothers continued to book studio sessions at Universal Recording in Chicago. Universal would, in fact, remain their studio of choice during this entire period; they did not acquire the ability to make even crude recordings in their offices until 1954, and the renowned Chess studios wouldn't open until May 1957. But their operation was on the tightest of budgets. In the U7000 series that Chess inherited from Aristocrat, just 31 new sides were newly recorded at Universal Recording in Chicago—and that's if we assume that the missing U7257 and U7258, U7273 and U7274 were actually made. Two further sides by The Dozier Boys were cut at United Broadcasting Studios in August; the rapidity with which these items were released indicates that they were done for Chess, not for the Premium label which regularly used that studio and eventually sold most of its remnants to the Chess brothers. Besides, Aristocrat had used United Broadcasting Studios on several occasions in 1948 and 1949. Chess also cut twoClaude McLin sides at Modern Recording Studio (a studio used by such rival indies as JOB and Seymour). These bring the total to a measly 35.

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The first session done under the auspices of the new label consisted of six sides by two artists already established on the Aristocrat roster. Uptown blues singer Andrew Tibbs had been responsible for no fewer than 7 releases on the predecessor label. Through the middle of 1949 he had been the company's most reliable seller. Sax Mallard had released three singles of his own and accompanied Tibbs and the Dozier Boys. What's more, when the session was cut, Mallard was a featured soloist in the all-star jazz band that Al Benson had put together for a Saturday night TV show on WBKB. Mallard seems to have used several of his band mates on the session, to which he contributed subtly Ellingtonian arrangements. Whatever its attractions to jazz fans today, this was not the sound that most record buyers wanted. Just one single was released from the session; despite the expenses the Chess brothers had sunk into recording them, the rest remain unissued to this day. Tibbs, whose own popularity was eroding, was addicted to heroin, and his habit would soon get him into trouble; although he made a few more records, they would all be done for other companies.

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The Chess brothers' next move was to bring Claude McLin back into the studio. They knew the tenor saxophonist from his frequent participation in jam sessions at the Macomba Lounge. In March 1949, his band was in residence there while Tom Archia temporarily worked the Congo Club, and he recorded for Aristocrat behind singer and pianist Laura Rucker. The idea on this occasion was to get Claude McLin to follow Gene Ammons' lead by recording a popular ballad. The tune selected was "Mona Lisa," which had been a big hit for Nat "King" Cole; a violinist and a steel guitarist sweetened McLin's regular combo sound on this number only. The flip side, "Benny's Bounce," was more typical McLin fare, though a mystery second tenor saxophonist joined in. We don't know for sure whether two further sides were made, as was customary at the time, or the allotted 3 hours were consumed getting "Mona Lisa" and "Benny's Bounce" right.

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"Mona Lisa" sold well enough to keep Claude McLin in Chicago for another year and a half; he had been scuffling for gigs since late 1949, but his fortunes improved temporarily now that he had a record out.

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The Chess brothers were eager to record their top-selling artist, Gene Ammons, whose May session had produced "My Foolish Heart," the label's biggest hit of the year. Jug entered the studio in August to cut four sides with the latest version of his working group: Bill Massey on trumpet, Mattthew Gee on trombone, Junior Mance at the piano, Gene Wright, bass, and Wes Landers, drums. He even got his celebrity front-line partner Sonny Stitt to participate, on baritone sax. All four sides were promptly released on two singles.

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From the collection of Armin Büttner

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From the collection of Armin Büttner

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Another high priority was gettingMuddy Waters back in the studio. Since two sides from Muddy's second session for Aristocrat scored a local hit in the summer of 1948, he had become an increasingly valuable asset to the label, and the Chess brothers intended to build on what he had already accomplished. They had been challenged, earlier in the year, by Muddy's moonlighting on a session for the short-lived Parkway label that featured his regular band with Little Walter and Baby Face Leroy Foster. Foster had left after his Parkway sides were released, but Leonard and Phil Chess finally ended their holdout and decided to include Little Walter on a Muddy Waters session. Four sides were made at an unclear date—most likely August 15, 1950, when the two sides featuring Jimmy Rogers are known to have been made. The results, enriched by Walter's harmonica playing, were impressive. The company still fell short, however, of including Waters' full band; the only other participant on the session was bassist Big Crawford.

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The strong release on Chess 1434 paired two of Muddy's best slow blues, "Sad Letter Blues" and "You're Gonna Need My Help, I Said" (a title that got a creative parsing on the label). The record was not a hit, but the groundwork for future sides was laid. The other two sides from the session were both released within a year.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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Another delayed reaction to Parkway activity was signing Jimmy Rogers, who had been playing second guitar in Muddy's working band for quite some time. Rogers had sung on sessions for Ora Nelle (1947), Tempo-Tone (1949), JOB (1949), and Parkway (1950)—without getting sides released from any of them. On August 15, he was called in to cut two titles of his own, both already tried and tested. "That's All Right" had been on his JOB session; before that he had played behind Othum Brown's released rendition of the same song when it was called "Ora Nelle Blues." "Ludella" was Rogers' only side for Parkway. On each, his vocals and guitar enjoyed sterling backing from this bandmates: Little Walter on harmonica, and Big Crawford on string bass. It must have been gratifying to get "Ludella" out on the radio and onto the retail shelves; meanwhile, "That's All Right" was a substantial hit.

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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Next came the Dozier Boys, who had been the most active vocal harmony group on Aristocrat. Apparently just two sides were done, at United Broadcasting studio instead of Universal. The resulting single effectively contrasted a jump, "You Got to Get It," with a ballad, "Pretty Eyes," but the release is very scarce today and obviously didn't sell well. King Fleming was the session pianist for the date, and a horn section was added for "Got to Get It." The company dropped the group, whose next contract would be with OKeh's revived Chicago operation (they did a session in 1951, and were listed in advertisements for the label, but their sides were never released). The Doziers would fare better with a new indepedent called United, where they recorded in 1952 and 1953.

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Two months went by without more studio recording. Leonard Chess still operated the Macomba Lounge, though now that he bore primary responsibility for the record company, club management was largely delegated to Phil. But four years of club ownership and its attendant burdens ended when the Macomba Lounge was badly damaged by fire. Nadine Cohodas's book places the fire in August, but the lists of contracts accepted and filed by Musicians Union Local 208 indicate that the end came later, probably in early October. The Chess brothers made no effort to open another club; they were now irrevocably committed to the record company.

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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When recording resumed on October 23, it was with another session by Muddy Waters' band, again with Walter and Crawford. Only two of the six sides featured Muddy's vocals, but one of these, "Louisiana Blues," turned out to be a classic. It's flip, "Evan Shuffle," was an enjoyably rustic instrumental featuring Walter's harmonica. Two more were features for Jimmy Rogers, accompanied by Muddy, Walter, and Crawford; "Going Away Baby" is a close relation to "Louisiana Blues." The final two were vehicles for guest guitarist and singer Johnny Shines, who was making his debut for Chess, with accompaniment by Walter, Rogers, and Crawford. The Shines sides were of the same superb quality as the rest of the material recorded that day, but they were reportedly never released, despite being listed in a Chess catalogue. Apparently Leonard Chess developed second thoughts, on the grounds that Shines's declamatory vocal style was too likely to compete with Muddy Waters'. Shines wouldn't get another opportunity until Joe Brown recorded him in April 1952.

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Aristocrat had carried three piano trios on its roster, under the leadership of Prince Cooper, Jimmy Bell, and Duke Groner. Though each trio remained active, and all three would record again, the Chess brothers had lost interest in them. Instead, they decided to pick up pianist and singerCalvin Bostick, whose unit had been working steadily in the South Side clubs for a year. He was born Calvin Thomas Bostick on July 4, 1928, in Anniston, Alabama. He began playing piano when he was four years old, and attended secondary school at the Mary Potter Academy, in Oxford, North Carolina. He majored in music at Lincoln University, in Jefferson City, Missouri, studying under the famed composer R. Nathaniel Dett. There Bostick wrote “People Will Talk about You” and “All of My Life.” Upon graduation in 1947 he moved to Chicago, but did not join Local 208 until October 18, 1949.

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C. T. Bostick showed up right away on the Local 208 contract list on October 20, 1949, when he posted a contract for 3 nights at Square's. He drew well enough to rate another week there (contract accepted and filed November 3, under the name "Cal Bostick"). On January 19, 1950, he posted an "indefinite" contract with the 113 Club, which featured piano trios. In April he moved to the 411 Club (3 month contract filed on April 6). In July, he extended his residency there for another six months (contract posted on July 20). The 411 Club was a cocktail lounge, where Bostic's classically trained tinkling posed no threat of stretching the boundaries of jazz.

Bostick cut his first single for Chess in October, while still resident at the 411. An item in the October 14 Chicago Defender, titled “Calvin Cuts 2 New Sides,” claimed that the sides were “currently on tryout with local disk jockeys.” “People Will Talk about You” was described as a “novelty blues,” and “All of My Life” was described as a ”blues ballad.” These were both accurate descriptions. The numbers were plainly inspired by Nat King Cole, as was Bostick's vocal style on each. We do not know who Bostick's guitarist and bassist were, but the trio heard on the record is tight and virtuosic and the guitarist gets a solo.

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Around the same time, the company urgently wanted a sequel to "Mona Lisa." Claude McLin and his band cut two sides at Modern Recording Studio. This time, the chosen vehicle was "Tennessee Waltz," which had been a monster hit for Patti Page on Mercury. Although the material was worthy, and McLin's rendition, unhampered by the added violin, was eloquent, a new Chicago-based competitor calledChance had had the same idea, and Schoolboy Porter's version trounced McLin's at the cash register. Most listeners today would prefer McLin's jazz balladeering to Porter's deliberately square enunciation of the melody. But Chess never reissued "Tennessee Waltz," or its flip, a surprisingly substantial improvisation on "Pop Goes the Weasel."

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Another symptom of tightness in the finances was the company's decision to record no Christmas numbers in 1950. Instead, Tom Archia and Gene Ammons' seasonal medley from 1948 was recycled under the new title "Boppin' for Santa." The flip of Chess 1445 was consisted of "Talk of the Town" from the same session (not retitled). The credits were changed to draw attention to Jug's presence on both sides. Leonard Chess used the occasion to test out his new system for putting reverb on recordings: it consisted of a 3-foot length of concrete sewer pipe with a speaker at one end and a microphone at the other. The results on "Boppin' for Santa" were underwhelming (as was the fake applause dubbed in at the beginning) but Leonard would soon learn how to put his homemade equipment to better use.

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Sessions newly recorded in Chicago for Chess, July-December 1950

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
U-7251	Sax Mallard and his sextet | Vocal by Andrew Tibbs	You Can't Win	Chess 1430	July 1950	August 1950
U-7252	Sax Mallard and his sextet | Vocal by Andrew Tibbs	Aching Heart	Chess 1430	July 1950	August 1950
U7253	Sax Mallard and his sextet (vocal by Andrew Tibbs)	She's My Baby	unissued	July 1950
U7254	Sax Mallard and his sextet (vocal by Andrew Tibbs)	Crying the Blues	unissued	July 1950
U7255	Sax Mallard and his sextet (vocal by Andrew Tibbs)	Boogie	unissued	July 1950
U7256	Sax Mallard and his sextet (vocal by Andrew Tibbs)	Blues in Hawaii	unissued	July 1950
U7257	Claude McLin?
U7258	Claude McLin?
U-7259	Claude McLin and his Sextet	Mona Lisa	Chess 1432	July 21, 1950	August 1950
U-7260	Claude McLin and his Sextet	Benny's Bounce	Chess 1432	July 21, 1950	August 1950
U-7261	Muddy Waters | Vocal Muddy Waters	Your [sic] Gonna Need My Help "I Said"	Chess 1434	prob. August 15, 1950	September 1950
U-7262	Muddy Waters | Vocal Muddy Waters	Sad Letter Blues	Chess 1434	prob. August 15, 1950	September 1950
U-7263	Muddy Waters and His Guitar	Early Morning Blues	Chess 1490	prob. August 15, 1950	December 1951
U-7264	Muddy Waters and his Guitar	Appealing Blues	Chess 1468	prob. August 15, 1950	July 1951
U-7265	Gene Ammons and his Orchestra	Jug Head Ramble	Chess 1433	August 1950	September 1950
U-7266	Gene Ammons and his Orchestra	Can Anyone Explain? (No! No! No!)	Chess 1433	August 1950	September 1950
U-7267	Gene Ammons Orchestra	Don't Do Me Wrong	Chess 1450	August 1950	February 1951
U-7268	Gene Ammons Orchestra	Prelude to a Kiss	Chess 1450	August 1950	February 1951
U-7269	Jimmy Rogers and his Trio | Vocal Jimmy Rogers	That's All Right	Chess 1435	August 15, 1950	October 1950
U-7270	Jimmy Rogers and his Trio | Vocal Jimmy Rogers	Ludella	Chess 1435	August 15, 1950	October 1950
U7270-2	Jimmy Rogers	Ludella [alt.]	(Boogie Disease LP 101/102)	August 15, 1950
UB50-817	Vocal by the Dozier Boys	You Got to Get It	Chess 1436	c. August 1950	October 1950
UB50-818	Vocal by the Dozier Boys	Pretty Eyes	Chess 1436	c. August 1950	October 1950
U7271	and	U7272	See	Purchased	Material
U7273
U7274
U-7275	Muddy Waters	Louisiana Blues	Chess 1441	October 23, 1950	November 1950
U-7276	Muddy Waters	Evan's Shuffle	Chess 1441	October 23, 1950	November 1950
U-7277	Vocal by Jimmy Rogers	Going Away Baby	Chess 1442	October 23, 1950	November 1950
U-7278	Vocal by Jimmy Rogers	Today, Today, Blues	Chess 1442	October 23, 1950	November 1950
U7279	Shoe Shine Johnny	Joliet Blues	Chess 1443	October 23, 1950	November 1950
U7280	Shoe Shine Johnny	So Glad I Found You	Chess 1443	October 23, 1950	November 1950
U-7281	Calvin Bostic [sic] Trio | Vocal by Calvin Bostic	All of My Life	Chess 1444	October 1950	December 1950
U-7282	Calvin Bostic Trio	People Will Talk about You	Chess 1444	October 1950	December 1950
U7283	Calvin Bostic Trio	Danny Boy		October 1950
AR-30451	Claude McLin and his Orchestra	Tennessee Waltz	Chess 1446	October or November 1950	December 1950
AR-30452	Claude McLin and his Orchestra	Pop Goes the Weasel	Chess 1446	October or November 1950	December 1950

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Confirming our hypothesis that they were keeping a close watch on every penny, the Chess brothers leased or purchased a very modest amount of material in 1950. Two sides by jazz tenor saxophonistLucky Thompson, one of which featured a vocal by Thelma Thompson, came from an unidentified label in the New York City area.

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Courtesy of Cary Ginell at Sound Thinking Music Research

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Chess also acquired two sides by blues singer Doc Pomus (who would gain fame later on as a songwriter). Accompaniment to the Doctor's raspy vocals was provided by a jump band with a tenor saxophone soloist whom the singer addressed as "Ray."Pomus recalled in an interview that Leonard Chess had actually traveled to New York to record the session; this seems unlikely, but at least there's no dubiety about the location. The Thompson sides are said by Ruppli to have matrix numbers with a CR prefix; the Pomus sides as released have the CR prefix in the wax, though not on the label. The CR could stand for the name of another record company; it could also merely indicate Chess Records.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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Finally, the brothers picked up two sides by Guy Blakeman and His Blue Grass Serenaders. If Leonard and Phil really got them in August 1950 (as suggested by the U7000 matrix numbers that the sides ended up with) they felt no urgency about releasing them. The Blakeman record didn't appear until November 1952, on one of the two singles (!) that were given the number Chess 1525. In total, there were 6 sides purchased in 1950, only 4 of which saw release that year.

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Sides purchased for release in 1950

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
U-1902 [source unidentified]	Lucky Thompson and his Orchestra	Slow Drag	Chess 1438	September 15, 1949 [New York City]	November 1950
U-1903 [source unidentified]	Vocal by Thelma Thompson with Lucky Thompson and his Orchestra	Nothin' from Nothin'	Chess 1438	September 15, 1949 [New York City]	November 1950
1000 [source unidentified]	Doc Pomus and his Orchestra	No Home Blues	Chess 1440	1950 [New York City]	November 1950
1002 [source unidentified]	Doc Pomus and his Orchestra	Send for the Doctor	Chess 1440	1950 [New York City]	November 1950
U7271 [poss. Sam Phillips]	Guy Blakeman and His Blue Grass Serenaders	Oh Yes I'm Lonely	Chess 1525	1950? [Memphis?]	November 1952
U7272 [poss. Sam Phillips]	Guy Blakeman and His Blue Grass Serenaders	I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll	Chess 1525	1950? [Memphis?]	November 1952

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After a few commercial successes in 1950, Leonard and Phil Chess were prepared to step up their recording activity in 1951.

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The very first session (by Sax Mallard) was held for release for more than a year, when two sides were used to open the new Checker subsidiary. Checker 750 was advertised in Cash Box on April 5, 1952 and reviewed in Billboard on April 26, 1952 (p. 27). Perhaps the tunes were held back because Mallard had followed the pattern of so many Aristocrat sessions, contrasting R&B jump numbers with lounge ballads. One of the released sides featured ballad singing by drummer Osie Johnson—so, apparently, did two further tracks that are still unreleased. A blues-based instrumental like "Slow Caboose" held a lot more commercial promise in 1952.

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On release, "Slow Caboose" carried composer credits to Alan Freed, the influential Cleveland-based disk jockey, and to one Carl Germany. Although the Chess brothers did not engage in the wholesale production of bogus composing credits that was standard operating procedure for some of their competitors, they did toss occasional writing credits in Freed's direction as an enticement to play their records. Just who Carl Germany was, and why it was important to reward him, is yet to be revealed.

A big gap in the U7000 series comes right after the Mallard session—no known sides between U7288 and U7299. Not counting the missing items (which could simply have been skipped in the master book) 94 new cuts were recorded for Chess during the year, nearly all at Universal Recording.

Apparently Calvin Bostick's first release was doing well enough to warrant a second session. In mid-January, Bostick and trio laid down four sides, two of which appeared on Chess 1451. Blessedly, the company refrained from studio gimmickry (no speeded up piano lines this time). The released sides were a relaxed blues, sung in a style influenced by Nat King Cole but not blatantly imitative, and a better than average lounge ballad. Bostick sang both in a smooth baritone. The gentility quotient was high, as might be expected, but the solid musicianship made Bostick's trio one of the very best plying its trade in Chicago during the period.

Next, the Chess brothers brought Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers back into the studio on January 23. This time, Muddy and band recorded a full session, followed by Jimmy Rogers with his own band for three sides. Then Rogers' pianist, Eddie Ware, got to do five more of his own.

Three of the the four sides laid down by Muddy (with Little Walter, harmonica, and Big Crawford, bass) were promptly released. On "Honey Bee," Little Walter played second guitar, as he had previously done on the Parkway session. A fourth side was of comparable quality, but once the Chess brothers added a certain Memphis-based performer to their roster later in the year promoting a number titled "Howlin' Wolf" wouldn't have made for the best marketing strategy.

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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Rogers used Ernest Cotton, tenor sax, and Eddie Ware, piano, along with Crawford and for his three sides. They were joined by Muddy's regular drummer, Elga Edmonds (still not recording on Muddy's own sides). (It seems odd that Rogers would use a different tenor saxophonist from Eddie Ware, when all of the sides were done in succession, but discographies usually credit Ernest Cotton, a veteran of Memphis Slim's House Rockers who also worked with Sunnyland Slim. And the sax work sound like Cotton's.)

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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---

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Finally, Eddie Ware made five cuts of his own, three of which were released. Eddie Chamblee played tenor sax on these cuts, and was responsible for the incorrectly credited vocal on "Lima Beans." Little Walter, who had stuck around from Muddy's session, ended up playing second guitar on some of the numbers.

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After testing the water with two sides that they bought from Joe Von Battle (see below, under purchased sessions), the Chess brothers decided to bring John Lee Hooker to Chicago for a session at Universal. The session of April 26 was previously said (for instance, in Michel Ruppli's Chess Discography) to have been done in Detroit and sold to Chess, but the latest research indicates otherwise. The outing was highly productive, leading to three singles on Chess. Because Hooker was still under contract to Bernie Besman in Detroit, the pseudonym "John Lee Booker" was applied, fooling precisely no one. Particularly when the company didn't even bother to use the "Booker" handle in the composer credits...

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On May 3, Chess got a final opportunity to record Gene Ammons and his combo. This time Jug's tenor sax was accompanied by his regular rhythm section: Junior Mance (piano), Gene Wright (bass), and Teddy Stewart (drums). Two sides from May 3 were promptly released on Chess 1464. The other two would gather dust until the company put them on an LP. (See below for two sides by Gene's old front-line partner Sonny Stitt, which have been incorrectly associated with this session; they were recorded around the same time, but by Premium rather than Chess.)

Considering Ammons' importance to the company (he practically kept Chess afloat in 1950) and his continuing commercial potential (the company was in a hurry to put his music on LP once it adopted that medium), we are not sure why and how he fell off the roster. Ammons may have had some obligation to Prestige, but that presumably expired after his November 1951 session with that label. During 1952 and 1953, he recorded in New York for Decca, then in Chicago for United. Could Leonard Chess have lost out to Lew Simpkins and Leonard Allen, or had his interest in Ammons somehow diminished? In November 1954, however, Ammons resumed recording for Prestige, remaining under long-term contract to the company for the rest of his life. The Chess brothers would learn about this the hard way; in 1961 and 1962 they recorded a couple of quickie Ammons LPs for their Argo subsidiary, only to be compelled to hand over the masters, along with monetary damages, after Presige sued them.

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U7339 and U7340 by tenor saxophonist Robert Caffery and his combo were recorded in New Orleans, some time later in May; just to confuse matters, two of the same matrix numbers has already been used on the last Gene Ammons session.

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The next session in Chicago featured a singer named Lou Blackwell. The rest of the lineup remains unknown, as the sides have never been released. The Chess brothers may have found Blackwell's suave baritone too uptown for their tastes. Blackwell would turn in some respectable stand-up blues singing with Tab Smith's combo, on an October 1951 session for United, but he had no better luck getting those sides released. His third and last session, for Chance in November or December 1952, finally produced a single.

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In June, John Peek and his band made their only session for the company. The single that was released, Chess 1471, featured the vocals of Erline Harris. The singer had been active on the recording scene for a couple of years. She made her debut with "Rock and Roll Blues," recorded in New York City for DeLuxe in April 1949. She next surfaced in New Orleans, recording for Regal with Plas and Ray Johnson's combo in July of that year. In April 1950 she cut four sides for DeLuxe in Cincinnati, with backing from a band led by jazz saxophonist Joe Thomas. When she joined the Chess roster, Harris had been featured in Chicago clubs for more than a year; during a run at Ralph's Club (2159 West Madison) from April through June 1950 she was duly billed as "Erline (Rockin and Rollin) Harris." At Ralph's Harris had been accompanied by tenor saxophonist Epp James and his band; who Peek was and why he was selected for this record date we don't know. We also don't know why the session for Chess was her last.

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July would prove to be a busy month in the studio. First Chess welcomed baritone saxophonist Leo Parker to Universal Recording. Parker had first attracted attention as a member of Billy Eckstine's band in 1944. By this time, he had recorded for several labels, and become as well known on the R&B scene as in the jazz world; he had also acquired a drug habit, and a reputation for unreliability. Parker was accompanied by a group of Chicago-based musicians: Eddie Johnson on tenor sax, Claude Jones at the piano (and an auxiliary doodad called the Lowrey Organo), Johnny Pate on bass, and Al Williams on the drum stool. Except for Williams, all had previously appeared on an Eddie South session recorded by Al Benson back in March (see below) and subsequently purchased by the company.

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Next Leonard Chess brought Muddy Waters in for a powerhouse session on July 11. The four tunes laid down that day are instantly recognizable from the heavy tread of the bass drum, played by Leonard Chess himself. Elga Edmonds wasn't getting the backbeat that Chess wanted, so he chased Edmonds off the stool and applied himself to the foot pedal. We doubt that he advertised his presence on the records to Local 208... "My Own Fault" and "Still a Fool" appeared on Chess 1480, in October; within a year, the other two sides were also on Chess singles.

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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Muddy's session was immediately followed by a four-tune outing for Jimmy Rogers. Two sides were promptly released on Chess 1476.

 

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From the Big Joe Louis collection

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On August 4, the company tried one last time with Claude McLin and his combo. This time the band laid down four jazz originals; no violins were added, no pop hits covered. Unfortunately from the company's perspective, the tenor saxophonist moved his family to Los Angeles early in 1952, before anything had been released from the session. Now that he was off the Chicago scene, the Chess brothers apparently concluded that McLin's sides would not get the sales push they needed. Two were finally released on an LP in 1972; the other two still repose in the vaults.

 

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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Besides, the brothers had found a new jazz tenor saxophonist who they believed had major jukebox potential. Eddie Johnson had been on the Chicago scene since the late 1930s, and it's most unlikely that Leonard and Phil had not crossed paths with him at some point during the 1940s. But the brothers' attention was apparently piqued by the March 1951 Eddie South session (see below) that they'd acquired from Al Benson. In October 1951, they gave Johnson and his combo another hit song to work with (in this case, it was "Cold Cold Heart" by Hank Williams); Chess 1488 was rushed into release and given a strong advertising push. It didn't meet the elevated sales targets that such activity implied, but the brothers persevered with Johnson, who would be their standard-bearer on tenor sax for the next year or so.

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Also in October, Chess invited Eddie Boyd in for a session with his working trio (piano, guitar, and bass). Boyd suspected that the company was more interested in obtaining songs for its established blues artists than in adding him to the roster, even though he had been on the Chicago scene since the early 1940s and had recorded several sessions as a leader, going back to 1947. Boyd turned out to be right: there was no effort to release anything from the session. But after his second session for JOB in May 1952 produced a massive hit in "Five Long Years," the Chess brothers rethought their decision. However, the fact that "Five Long Years" used a larger combo with tenor sax and drums discouraged any belated releases from the October 1951 outing, which had to bide its time until the 1970s reissue programs.

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Cbess also returned to studio recordings of gospel music, as a group generically referred to as the Gospel Singers laid down six sides. We can say nothing further, as none have ever been released.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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Later in October (well, maybe it was November), the Chess brothers waxed four tracks by a vocal group called Two Honeys and a Cone. The response to the group's single, on Chess 1500, obviously did not encourage further explorations of this particular market. The composer credits to "Randolph" led us to wonder whether trumpeter and bandleader Zilner T. Randolph (1899-1994) might be involved. Sure enough, a brief Chicago item in the March 1, 1952 issue of Billboard declared that "Elaine [Randolph], daughter of cleffer [Zilner Randolph], debuts on the new Chess Records release, "Twenty Robbers," singing as a member of Two Honeys and a Cone group and soloing" (p. 40). The writer unfortunately garbled their names into "Elaine Zilner" and "Randolph Zilner."

We have not heard Chess 1500, so we cannot speak to the instrumentation on it. Around the beginning of 1949, Two Honeys and a Cone cut a single for Zilner Randolph's own Blue House label. Blue House 1 consists of "So Worried," with a lead vocal by Hattie Randolph and a trumpet solo by Lucious Randopph, and "Blue Be Bop," with a lead by Regina "Genie" Randolph, who was all of 10 years old at the time. Accompaniment was by Zilner Randolph on piano, Ike Perkins on guitar, and Ransom Knowling on bass.

Zilner Randolph had seven children, all of whom received musical training, so the Randolph family band underwent changes in membership. By 1952, Hattie Randolph was performing on her own, and the vocal lineup on the Chess session probably consisted of Elaine, Genie, and Lucious.

Lucious Randolph later recorded with Sun Ra's Arkestra and did occasional session work. Hattie Randolph went on to record a single for Drexel (one side was composed by her father); she sang on two sessions with Sun Ra. Regina Randolph became a schoolteacher and later went into acting.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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In mid-December, Chess sought to follow up on the success of "Rocket 88" (see below, under purchased recordings) by bringing Jackie Brenston to Chicago to record his own session. Much was obviously expected, as the singer and baritone saxophonist laid down no fewer than 8 sides. But just four were released, and the sales of Chess 1496 and 1532 must not have been up to expectations. Chess 1496 has shown up in quite a few collections; 1532, which would be Brenston's last release on Chess, is less often seen. The full band personnel for the session is not known, but two Memphis stalwarts were on hand: Phineas Newborn Jr. at the piano and his brother Calvin Newborn on guitar (Calvin is also credited as the composer on "Starvation," a solid jazz instrumental). The band was rounded out with an alto sax, a tenor sax, bass, drums, and guest singer Edna McRaney (who appeared on "88 Boogie" and "Lovin' Time Blues" as well as "Hi, Ho Baby").

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The final session of the year took place on December 29. The main attraction was Muddy Waters. Despite the session's high productivity, however, just one of Muddy's sides was released—a stark, eerie rendition of "All Night Long" that put Leonard Chess's sewer-pipe reverb to good use. Two other takes of the same piece survive, noticeably different in ambience from the issued version. It is easy to understand why the Chess brothers passed on a number titled "Howlin' Wolf" once they had added an artist by that name to the roster. But nothing else from the session seemed to interest the company, not even a masterpiece on the order of "They Call Me Muddy Waters." The neglected tracks would prove a treasure trove for reissuers, starting in the early 1970s.

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The December 29 session included no follow-on for Jimmy Rogers; instead the Chess brothers brought in Floyd Jones to make another four numbers with the band. This was a bit of a reunion, as Floyd Jones, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, and Elga Edmonds had all worked on the Tempo-Tone sessions back in May 1949. (At least we think Elga Edmonds was the drummer; some sources claim that one Willie Coven was on this date in his place.)

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Despite the lack of continuity, F1006 and F1007, versions of "Dark Road" and "Big World" by Floyd Jones, were cut at the same session as U7417 and U7418, "Playhouse" and "Overseas." Some misdirection may been have been involved in the decision to put these two items in the 1000 series previously reserved for material recorded elsewhere. In fact, as Dave Sax and George Paulus have recently been able to show, Chess actually put out two versions of its first Floyd Jones single. Jones had done "Dark Road" and "Big World" on March 22, 1951 with a Sunnyland Slim unit, results duly released onJOB 1001. The ensuing single was the JOB's label's best seller up to that time. Some copies of Chess 1498 are straight reissues of JOB 1001. Others, however, feature the remakes from December 29, 1951. The remakes, done with Muddy Waters' band, were as stark and eerie as their session-mate "All Night Long." Highly esteemed by blues fans today, they probably outsold the JOBs on the strength of superior distribution. Chess's decision to put out a second version of 1498 made any prospects of future cooperation with Joe Brown remote; we know of no further collaboration between the labels until 1958. Meanwhile Floyd Jones' "Playhouse" and "Overseas," which were nearly as good as the two released, stayed in the vaults until the early 1970s.

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Sides newly recorded for Chess in 1951

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
U7284	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Turn Me Loose		January 8, 1951
U7285	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Angels Sing		January 8, 1951
7286	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Slow Caboose	Checker 750	January 8, 1951	April 1952
7287	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Darling, Let's Give Love a Chance	Checker 750	January 8, 1951	April 1952
U7288	through	U7299	Unused	Matrix	Numbers
U-7300	Calvin Bostick and His Trio | Vocal Calvin Bostick	I'm in Love with You (And I Hope That You'r [sic] in Love with Me)	Chess 1451	mid-January 1951	March 1951
U-7301	Calvin Bostick and His Trio | Vocal Calvin Bostick	Fleetwood Blues	Chess 1451	mid-January 1951	March 1951
U7302	Calvin Bostick and His Trio	You Do Something		mid-January 1951
U7303	Calvin Bostick and His Trio	unidentified title		mid-January 1951
U-7304	Muddy Waters and his Guitar | Vocal Muddy Waters	Long Distance Call	Chess 1452	January 23, 1951	March 1951
U-7305	Muddy Waters and his Guitar | Vocal Muddy Waters	Too Young to Know	Chess 1452	January 23, 1951	March 1951
U-7306	Muddy Waters and his Guitar	Honey Bee	Chess 1468	January 23, 1951	July 1951
U7307	Muddy Waters	Howlin' Wolf	(Chess LP 1553)	January 23, 1951
U-7308	Jimmy Rogers and His Rocking Four	I Used to Have a Woman	Chess 1506	January 23, 1951	April 1952
U-7309	Jimmy Rogers with His Rocking Four | Vocal Jimmy Rogers	The World Is in a Tangle	Chess 1453	January 23, 1951	March 1951
U-7310	Jimmy Rogers with His Rocking Four | Vocal Jimmy Rogers	She Loves Another Man	Chess 1453	January 23, 1951	March 1951
U-7311	Eddie Ware and His Band	Give Love Another Chance	Chess 1507	January 23, 1951	April 1952
U-7312	Eddy Ware and his Band	Wandering Lover	Chess 1461	January 23, 1951	May 1951
U7313	Eddie Ware and His Band	I Found Out	(Chess [J] PLP-6022)	January 23, 1951
U-7314	Eddy Ware and his Band [vocal really by Eddie Chamblee]	Lima Beans	Chess 1461	January 23, 1951	May 1951
U7315	Eddie Ware and His Band	Rumba Dust	(Chess [J] PLP-6022)	January 23, 1951
U7316	and	U7317	See	Purchased	Material
U7318	through	U7323	See	Purchased	Material
U7324	and	U7325	See	Purchased	Material
U-7326	John Lee Booker	Louise	Chess 1482 [Modern 852]	April 26, 1951	December 1951
U-7327	John Lee Hooker	High Priced Woman	Chess 1505	April 26, 1951	April 1952
U-7328	John Lee Hooker	Union Station Blues	Chess 1505	April 26, 1951	April 1952
U7329	John Lee Hooker	unidentified title		April 26, 1951
U-7330	John Lee Booker	Ground Hog Blues	Chess 1482 [Modern 852]	April 26, 1951	December 1951
U-7331	John Lee Booker	Leave My Wife Alone	Chess 1467	April 26, 1951	July 1951
U7332?	John Lee Hooker	Just Me and My Telephone	(Chess LP1454)	April 26, 1951
U-7333	John Lee Booker	Ramblin' by Myself	Chess 1467	April 26, 1951	July 1951
U7334?	John Lee Hooker	Dreamin' Blues	(Chess LP1454)	April 26, 1951
U7335	and	U7336	See	Purchased	Material
U7337	Gene Ammons	Baby Won't You Please Say Yes	Chess 1464	May 3, 1951	June 1951
U7338	Gene Ammons	Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe	Chess 1464	May 3, 1951	June 1951
U7339	Gene Ammons	It's You or No One	(Chess LP 1442)	May 3, 1951
U7340	Gene Ammons	You're Not That Kind of a Girl	(Chess LP 1445)	May 3, 1951
U7339 [sic]	Robert Caffery	Ida Bee	Chess 1470	May 1951 [New Orleans]	July 1951
U7340 [sic]	Robert Caffery	Blodie's Blues	Chess 1470	May 1951 [New Orleans]	July 1951
U7341	L. E. Blackwell	Soliloquy		May or June 1951
U7342	L. E. Blackwell	Blues		May or June 1951
U7343	L. E. Blackwell	Crazy Rhythm		May or June 1951
U7344	L. E. Blackwell	The Masquerade Is Over		May or June 1951
U7345	John Peek and his Orchestra with Erline Harris	I Have No Right		June 19, 1951
U7346	John Peek and his Orchestra	unidentified title		June 19, 1951
U-7347	John Peek and his Orchestra (vocal: Arline [sic] Harris)	Long Tall Papa	Chess 1471	June 19, 1951	July 1951
U-7348	Erline Harris with John Peek and his Orchestra	Pushin' My Heart Around	Chess 1471	June 19, 1951	July 1951
U7349	and	U7350	See	Purchased	Material
U7351	and	U7352	See	Purchased	Material
U-7353	Leo Parker and his Quintet	Candlelight Serenade	Chess 1477	July 7, 1951	September 1951
U7354	Leo Parker	Hornet	(Chess CHV-413)	July 7, 1951
U-7355	Leo Parker and his Quintet	Reed Rock	Chess 1477	July 7, 1951	September 1951
U7356	Leo Parker	Leo's Blues	(Chess CHV-413)	July 7, 1951
U-7357	Muddy Waters and His Guitar	Country Boy	Chess 1509	July 11, 1951	April 1952
U-7358	Muddy Waters and His Guitar	She Moves Me	Chess 1490	July 11, 1951	December 1951
U-7359	Muddy Waters and His Guitar	My Fault	Chess 1480	July 11, 1951	October 1951
U-7360	Muddy Waters and His Guitar	Still a Fool	Chess 1480	July 11, 1951	October 1951
U-7361	Jimmy Rogers and his Rocking Four	Money, Marbles and Chalk	Chess 1476	July 11, 1951	August 1951
U7362	Jimmy Rogers	Hard Working Man	(Chess [Br] 6641174)	July 11, 1951
U-7363	Jimmy Rogers and his Rocking Four	Chance to Love	Chess 1476	July 11, 1951	August 1951
U7364	Jimmy Rogers	My Little Machine	(Chess [Br] 6641174)	July 11, 1951
U7367	Claude McLin	Swivel Hips	(Chess CHV-414)	August 7, 1951
U7368	Claude McLin	Green Dolphin		August 7, 1951
U7369	Claude McLin	Vanity		August 7, 1951
U7370	Claude McLin	Never Mind	(Chess CHV-414)	August 7, 1951
U7371	and	U7372	See	Purchased	Material
U7373	and	U7374	See	Purchased	Material
U7375	and	U7376	See	Purchased	Material
U7377	and	U7378	See	Purchased	Material
U-7379	Eddie Johnson and Orchestra	Cold Cold Heart	Chess 1488	October 1951	November 1951
U-7380	Eddie Johnson and Orchestra	Walk Softly	Chess 1488	October 1951	November 1951
U-7381	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	Sister Murphy	Chess 1503	October 1951	April 1952
U7382	Eddie Johnson and His Orchestra	Sleep Again		October 1951
U7383	Eddie Boyd	Picture in the Frame	(Chess [G] 6.24810AG)	October 1951
U7384	Eddie Boyd	I Got the Blues	(Chess CHD2-9385)	October 1951
U7385	Eddie Boyd	Got Lonesome Here	(Chess [G] 6.24810AG)	October 1951
U7386	Eddie Boyd	I Began to Sing the Blues	(Chess CHD2-9385)	October 1951
U7387	Gospel Singers	Ruler of the Land		November 1951
U7388	Gospel Singers	Glorious Days		November 1951
U7389	Gospel Singers	Always Tired		November 1951
U7390	Gospel Singers	A Little While		November 1951
U7391	Gospel Singers	Jubilee		November 1951
U7392	Gospel Singers	Ain't Gonna Study War No More		November 1951
U7393	and	U7394	See	Purchased	Material
U7395	and	U7396	See	Purchased	Material
U7397	and	U7398	See	Purchased	Material
U7399	and	U7400	See	Purchased	Material
U-7401	Two Honeys and a Cone	Love My Mom & Love My Pop	Chess 1500	November-December 1951	March 1952
U7402	Two Honeys and a Cone	Syrup Pitcher		November-December 1951
U7403	Two Honeys and a Cone	Rain That Falls		November-December 1951
U-7404	Two Honeys and a Cone	Twenty Robbers	Chess 1500	November-December 1951	March 1952
U-7405	Jackie Brenston and Edna McRaney with the Delta Cats	Hi, Ho Baby	Chess 1496	December 15, 1951	January 1952
U-7406	Jackie Brenston	Tell Troubles Goodbye	unissued	December 15, 1951
U-7407	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	The Blues Got Me Again	Chess 1532	December 15, 1951	December 1952
U-7408	Jackie Brenston	You Won't Be Comin' Back	(Chess [J] PLP 6027)	December 15, 1951
U-7409	Jackie Brenston	88 Boogie	(Chess [J] PLP 6027)	December 15, 1951
U-7410	Jackie Brenston	Lovin' Time Blues	(Chess [J] PLP 6027)	December 15, 1951
U-7411	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	Leo the Louse	Chess 1496	December 15, 1951	January 1952
U-7412 [7412-A in vinyl]	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	Starvation Blues	Chess 1532	December 15, 1951	December 1952
U7413	Muddy Waters	They Call Me Muddy Waters	(Chess LP 1553)	December 29, 1951
U-7414	Muddy Waters and His Guitar	All Night Long	Chess 1509	December 29, 1951	April 1952
U7414 [alt. 1]	Muddy Waters	All Night Long	(Chess [Br] 6641047)	December 29, 1951
U7414 [alt. 2]	Muddy Waters	All Night Long		December 29, 1951
U7415	Muddy Waters	Stuff You Gotta Watch	(Chess [Br] 6641174)	December 29, 1951
U7416	Muddy Waters	Lonesome Day	(Chess [Br] 6641174)	December 29, 1951
U7417	Floyd Jones	Overseas	(Chess [Br] 6641174)	December 29, 1951
U7418	Floyd Jones	Playhouse	(Chess LP 411)	December 29, 1951
U-1006 (F1006 in wax)	Floyd Jones and his Guitar	Dark Road	Chess 1498 [second version]	December 29, 1951	January 1952
U-1007 (F1007 in wax)	Floyd Jones and his Guitar	Big World	Chess 1498 [second version]	December 29, 1951	January 1952

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There was also significant growth outside of Universal Recording; the Chess brothers were vastly accelerating their purchases. In 1951 they began a pact with Sam Phillips' operation in Memphis (probably 36 sides during the year). Phillips had begun operating his now-legendary studio in 1950; in the early going he recorded material for many independent labels, including 4 Star, Gilt-Edge, and Modern/RPM (for details, see John Boija's page on records that were done at the Sun studio from 1950 through 1952, at http://www.boija.com).

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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The first Phillips session that went to Chess was cut on March 5, 1951 by Izear Luster "Ike" Turner and his combo: Turner at the piano, Raymond Hill and Jackie Brenston, tenor saxes; Willie Kizart, electric guitar; and Willie Sims, drums. It led to a pair of releases, Chess 1458 and 1459. On 1459, the group was billed as Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm; Turner did the singing, which was never his strong suit. 1458 turned over the vocal chores to Jackie Brenston; it was opportunistically attributed to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. "Come Back Where You Belong" tended to prove that Jackie Brenston wasn't that good at singing slow blues, on which he was given to yips and whines. Much better suited to his narrow skill set was a mutant boogie called "Rocket 88," which Kizart's loud and accidentally fuzz-toned guitar (legend has it that his amplifier fell off the roof of the band's car, somewhere along Highway 61) pushes into rock and roll territory. Nowadays "Rocket 88" is often billed as the first rock and roll record, but rock and roll was the product of a gradual evolution and there are earlier competitors for this notional honor. In 1951, no one thought it was rock and roll, but it's fair to infer that a lot of record buyers sensed something different about it and liked it.

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With a hit on the charts, Chess wanted more where that came from, and the same ensemble plus a trumpeter and a string bass player returned to Phillips' studio in July to make a sequel. "My Real Gone Rocket" is a pretty obvious continuation, but neither the Turner band nor Sam Phillips quite realized what they had wrought. With the string bass theoretically helping on the low end, Kizart's guitar becomes less prominent and the resulting performance, despite its raw energy, doesn't get so close to the rock and roll end of the continuum. The track's session mate wasn't deemed worthy of release. Brenstonreturned to the Phillips studio on September 20 with a new band that featured Memphis greats Phineas Newborn Jr. (piano) and Calvin Newborn (guitar). "Tuckered Out"is a credible R&B performance; it was paired with "Real Gone" on Chess 1469. Four other Brenston sides were never used during the original Chess label's lifetime and remain obscure today; they appear to have been made at another session around this time.

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The Chess brothers also acquired material from the Miracle operation in Chicago, which had gone belly-up in June 1950 (most notably, 8 Sunrise sides by Al Hibbler). And they picked up some of the remains of its successor, Premium, which quit recording just over a year later, in July 1951 (6 sides).

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Around the beginning of 1951, the Chess brothers bought 6 masters from the blues-oriented Chicago independent JOB, two of which had already been released in 1950 on (the second incarnation of) JOB 100. Joe Brown's label was a mom-and-pop operation that lacked distribution, which probably explained the sales. Another 2 sides were apparently leased to Chess. The relationship with JOB did not last; by the end of the year Chess would rerecord two Floyd Jones sides that had already been released on JOB then leased and reissued on Chess 1498. There ended up being two versions of 1498, one consisting of the sides made for JOB on March 22, and one with the remakes made on December 29, 1951 (see above). The Chess 1498 inbroglio would end any kind of cooperative relationship between the companies for several years. The Chess brothers also made their first purchase from Joe Von Battle's operation in Detroit (2 sides).

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A master that Chess bought from JOB. From the collection of Tom Kelly.

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Disc jockey Al Benson, who had been the front man for the Old Swing-Master operation in 1949, was starting to do a little free-lance recording; he, too, sold a session to Chess (8 more sides).

Two more came in from the Hilltop label; Galen Gart says that Hilltop 701 was put out by a company in New York City, but he also lists a Hilltop in Cincinnati, run by one Robert Hill (who happens to be listed as the composer on both of the Hilltop-derived sides). It appears that John Godfrey, the leader on the session, was a drummer; "Hey Little Girl" features some rather thin vocal harmonies from his trio, plus some prominent work by an Ornithological alto saxophonist.

The Felix Gross tracks were reportedly recorded in Los Angeles (we do know that Gross had previously recorded for Exclusive in LA, and a later session for Chess may have originated in Dallas). If these sides were cut in Los Angeles, they had to have been purchased from a small label there, as the Chess brothers were not recording anything in California at this early date. In all, 64 sides were purchased.

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With these purchases, the Chess brothers felt a need to create a separate matrix series for purchased items (though they would never employ them with full consistency—some purchased material always leaked back into the original U7000 series). Starting at U60 and for U61 for two John Lee "Booker" sides from Detroit (originally issued by Joe Von Battle on the hyper-low circulation Gone 60/61), they found it useful to extend this series for the sides that began cascading in from Sam Phillips in Memphis.

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The deal with Sam Phillips was critical to the future of the label, because it brought Howlin' Wolf to the Chess catalog for the first time. (Incidentally, he was nearly always referred to in New York Times style—as "The Howlin' Wolf"—on Chess labels from this era.)

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The two aforementioned sides by John Lee Hooker were obtained from Joe Von Battle, who had recorded them in the back of his record store in Detroit; obviously they did well enough in the marketplace to justify transporting Hooker to Chicago for a lengthy session in April (see the preceding section) and releasing some John Lee "Booker" records.

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Singer Al Hibbler in 1946. Sales of his singles, acquired from the defunct Sunrise label, helped to keep Chess afloat in 1951. From the collection of Billy Vera.

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Most important for the bottom line, though, was the acquisition of Al Hibbler's Sunrise sides, probably via Lee Egalnick of Miracle, whose company had distributed Sunrise releases and participated in a joint venture. Most entrepreneurs would not anticipate big sales on a recording that was already 3 1/2 years old and had already been a hit. But the Chess brothers sold enough copies of Hibbler's "Trees" to finance a great many forays into jukebox jazz and down-home blues. In fact, when the Hibbler sides were ready for release in April 1951, the brothers jumped over number 1454 in their release series, as if to set off the simultaneous unleashing of Chess 1455, 1456, and 1457, all by Hibbler. They never did get back to 1454. Later in the year, they also managed to duplicate number 1475, which was more or less simultaneously applied to a gospel record by the Four-A Melody Men (excavated from unissued Aristocrat material) and to a White blues record by Harmonica Frank Floyd (obtained from Sam Phillips). Otherwise, however, the Chess release series proceeded unbroken.

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Sides purchased for release in 1951

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
100A [JOB]	Baby Face Leroy and His Trio	My Head Can't Rest Anymore	Chess 1447A [JOB 100]	mid 1950	January 1951
100B [JOB]	Baby Face Leroy and His Trio	Take a Little Walk with Me	Chess 1447B [JOB 100]	mid 1950	January 1951
U-31641 [JOB]	J. B. Lenore [sic] and his Bayou Boys	Deep in Debt Blues	Chess 1463	c. December 1950 [Modern Recording Studio, Chicago]	June 1951
U-31642 [JOB]	J. B. Lenore and his Bayou Boys	Carrie Lee	Chess 1463	c. December 1950 [Modern Recording Studio, Chicago]	June 1951
JB-31643 [JOB]	J. B. [Lenoir] and His Bayou Boys	My Baby Told Me	Chess 1449	c. December 1950 [Modern Recording Studio, Chicago]	January 1951
J.B.-31644 [JOB]	J. B. and His Bayou Boys	Korea Blues	Chess 1449	c. December 1950 [Modern Recording Studio, Chicago]	January 1951
SU-2135 [Sunrise]	Al Hibbler and His Orchestra (Vocal Al Hibbler)	It Don't Mean a Thing	Chess 1455	1948	March 1951
SU-2140 [Sunrise]	Al Hibbler and His Orchestra	What Will I Tell My Heart	Chess 1455	1948	March 1951
Su 2029 [Sunrise]	Al Hibbler and His Orchestra	Trees	Chess 1456 [Miracle M-501]	November 1947 [New York City]	April 1951
Su 2030 [Sunrise]	Al Hibbler and His Orchestra	Lover Come Back to Me	Chess 1456 [Miracle M-501]	November 1947 [New York City]	April 1951
EB 1002 [Sunrise]	Al Hibbler and His Orchestra	Solitude	Chess 1457 [Sunrise 2002]	early 1947 [New York City]	April 1951
EB 1003 [Sunrise]	Al Hibbler and His Orchestra	Feather Roll Blues	Chess 1457 [Sunrise 2002]	early 1947 [New York City]	April 1951
U-7316 [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	Rocket "88"	Chess 1458	March 5, 1951 [Memphis]	April 1951
U-7317 [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	Come Back Where You Belong	Chess 1458	March 5, 1951 [Memphis]	April 1951
U-7324 [Sam Phillips]	Ike Turner and his Kings of Rythm [sic]	Heartbroken and Worried	Chess 1459	March 5, 1951 [Memphis]	April 1951
U-7325 [Sam Phillips]	Ike Turner and his Kings of Rythm	I'm Lonesome Baby	Chess 1459	March 5, 1951 [Memphis]	April 1951
U7318 [Al Benson]	Eddie South and his Orchestra	Pate-rified	(Chess CHV-415)	c. March 3, 1951
U-7319 [Al Benson]	Eddy [sic] South and His Orchestra | Vocal and Directed by Al Benson	I Can't Give You Anything but Love	Chess 1460	c. March 3, 1951	April 1951
U7319 [alt.] [Al Benson]	Eddie South and his Orchestra	I Can't Give You Anything but Love	(Chess CHV-415)	c. March 3, 1951
U7320 [Al Benson]	Eddie South and his Orchestra	Fiddle Ditty	(Chess CHV-415)	c. March 3, 1951
U7320 [alt.] [Al Benson]	Eddie South and his Orchestra	Fiddle Ditty Ending	(Chess CHV-415)	c. March 3, 1951
U7321 [Al Benson]	Eddie South and his Orchestra	Yesterdays		c. March 3, 1951
U-7322 [Al Benson]	Eddy South and his Orchestra | Directed by Al Benson	Currant Jelly	Chess 1460	c. March 3, 1951	April 1951
U7323 [Al Benson]	Eddie South and His Orchestra	Sentimental Rhapsody	(Chess CHV-415)	c. March 3, 1951
U-60 [Joe Von Battle]	John Lee Booker and his Guitar | Vocal John Lee Booker	Mad Man Blues	Chess 1462 [Gone 60/61]	late 1950 [Detroit]	May 1951
U-61 [Joe Von Battle]	John Lee Booker and his Guitar	Boogie Now	Chess 1462 [Gone 60/61]	late 1950 [Detroit]	May 1951
U7335 [Premium]	Sonny Stitt	I Cover the Waterfront	(Chess LP 1445)	1951
U7336 [Premium]	Sonny Stitt	Don't Worry 'bout Me	(Chess LP 1445)	1951
? [Premium]	Sonny Stitt	unidentified title		1951
? [Premium]	Sonny Stitt	unidentified title		1951
U-62 [Sam Phillips]	Rufus Thomas, Jr.	Night Workin' Blues	Chess 1466	c. May 1951 [Memphis]	July 1951
U-63 [Sam Phillips]	Rufus Thomas, Jr.	Why Did You Deegee?	Chess 1466	c. May 1951 [Memphis]	July 1951
U-64 [Sam Phillips]	Lou Sargent and his Orchestra	Ridin' the Boogie	Chess 1465	c. May 1951 [Memphis]	July 1951
U-65 [Sam Phillips]	Lou Sargent and his Orchestra (vocal: Les Mitchell)	She Really Treats Me Wrong	Chess 1465	c. May 1951 [Memphis]	July 1951
U-66A [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats	My Real Gone Rocket	Chess 1469	c. July 1951 [Memphis]	October 1951
? [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats	Make My Love Come Down	(Chess [J] 6027)	c. June 1951 [Memphis]
U-7349 [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats [vocal actually by Billy Love]	Juiced	Chess 1472	c. June 1951 [Memphis]	July 1951
U-7350 [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	Independent Woman	Chess 1472	c. June 1951 [Memphis]	July 1951
U-7351 [prob. Sam Phillips]	Evangelist Gospel Singers of Alabama	Leaning on the Lord	Chess 1473	mid-1951 [Memphis]	July or August 1951
U-7352 [prob. Sam Phillips]	Evangelist Gospel Singers of Alabama	Lord Stop the War	Chess 1473	mid-1951 [Memphis]	July or August 1951
U7365 [unidentified source]	Felix Gross and His Orchestra	I Want You, I Need You	Chess 1474	July 1951 [Los Angeles]	August 1951
U7366 [unidentified source]	Felix Gross and His Orchestra	You Done Me Wrong	Chess 1474	July 1951 [Los Angeles]	August 1951
U-80 [Sam Phillips]	Harmonica Frank	Swamp Root	Chess 1475-A	summer 1951? [Memphis]	August 1951
U-81 [Sam Phillips]	Harmonica Frank	Going Away Walkin'	Chess 1475-A [sic; original flip]	summer 1951? [Memphis]	August 1951
U-82 [Sam Phillips]	Harmonica Frank	Step It Up and Go	Chess 1475B [later flip]	summer 1951? [Memphis]	August 1952
U-701-A [Robert Hill]	John Godfrey Trio	Hey Little Girl	Chess 1478 [Hilltop 701]	1951 [Cincinnati]	September 1951
U-702-B [Robert Hill]	John Godfrey Trio	Booging the Blues	Chess 1478 [Hilltop 701]	1951 [Cincinnati]	September 1951
U-83 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Moanin' at Midnight	Chess 1479	May 14, 1951 [Memphis]	August 1951
U-84 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	How Many More Years	Chess 1479	May 14, 1951 [Memphis]	August 1951
U-85 [Sam Phillips]	Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats	Tuckered Out	Chess 1469	Sepember 20, 1951 [Memphis]	October 1951
[prob. Sam Philips]	Jackie Brenston	I Want to See My Baby	(Chess [J] LP 6027)	1951 [Memphis]
[prob. Sam Philips]	Jackie Brenston	My Baby Left Town	(Chess [J] LP 6027)	1951 [Memphis]
[prob. Sam Philips]	Jackie Brenston	Fat Meat Is Greasy	(Chess [J] LP 6027)	1951 [Memphis]
[prob. Sam Philips]	Jackie Brenston	Jackie's Chewing Gum	(Chess [J] LP 6027)	1951 [Memphis]
U-7371 [Su 2142]	Al Hibbler	I Love You	Chess 1481 [Miracle M-515]	1948	November 1951
U-7372 [EB1003A]	Al Hibbler	My Little Brown Book	Chess 1481 [Sunrise 2001]	early 1947 [New York City]	November 1951
U-7373 [prob. Sam Phillips]	The Spiritual Stars	I'll Search Heaven	Chess 1485	August 1951? [Memphis?]	December 1951
U-7374 [prob. Sam Phillips]	The Spiritual Stars	Good Religion	Chess 1485	August 1951? [Memphis?]	December 1951
U-7375 [Sam Phillips]	Roscoe Gordon	Booted	Chess 1487	August 1951 [Memphis]	December 1951
U-7376 [Sam Phillips]	Roscoe Gordon [vocal really by Bobby "Blue" Bland]	Love You 'til the Day I Die	Chess 1487	August 1951 [Memphis]	December 1951
U7377 [prob. Sam Phillips]	The Evangelist Gospel Singers of Alabama	Never Grow Old	Chess 1486	August 1951? [Memphis?]	December 1951
U7378 [prob. Sam Phillips]	The Evangelist Gospel Singers of Alabama	Walk in the Light	Chess 1486	August 1951? [Memphis?]	December 1951
U7393 [Sam Phillips]	L. J. Thomas and His Louisiana Playboys	Baby Take a Chance with Me	Chess 1493	1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
U7394 [Sam Phillips]	L. J. Thomas and His Louisiana Playboys	Sam's Drag	Chess 1493	1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
U-7395 [Premium]	Memphis Slim and His House Rockers	Walking Alone	Chess 1491	mid-1951 [Cleveland]	January 1952
U-7396 [Premium]	Memphis Slim and His House Rockers	Rocking the Pad	Chess 1491	mid-1951 [Cleveland]	January 1952
U7397 [Sam Phillips]	Robert Bland	Crying	Chess 1489	August 1951 [Memphis]	December 1951
U7398 [Sam Phillips]	Robert Bland	A Letter from a Trench in Korea	Chess 1489	August 1951 [Memphis]	December 1951
U7399 [Sam Phillips]	Rufus Thomas	No More Doggin' Around	Chess 1492	October 1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
U7400 [Sam Phillips]	Rufus Thomas	Crazy 'bout You Baby	Chess 1492	October 1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
U-1006 (JB 1001-B in vinyl)	Floyd Jones and his Guitar	Dark Road	Chess 1498 [first version; from JOB 1001]	March 22, 1951	January 1952
U-1007 (JB 1001-A in vinyl)	Floyd Jones and his Guitar	Big World	Chess 1498 [first version; JOB 1001]	March 22, 1951	January 1952

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As 1952 began, Leonard Chess had obviously made some commitments about musical direction. Now that the company had two of the top-selling down-home blues artists in its catalog (Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf) Chess continued its efforts in this genre. There was the inconvenience, however, of The Wolf's continuing to record for the Bihari brothers in Memphis as well as Sam Phillips; this was eventually resolved in a deal that committed the Wolf exclusively to Chess while the Biharis got Roscoe Gordon. Meanwhile, jazz was not getting much emphasis. Early in the year, Chess lost interest in Claude McLinwhen he left town for Los Angeles. The label would presumably have liked to record Gene Ammons, but he moved first to Decca and then to the company's new Chicago-based rival, United. The most significant jazz artist that Chess recorded in 1952 was Eddie Johnson; clearly the hope was that numbers like "Twin Rock" would appeal to the R&B-consuming public. And Sax Mallard recorded another session for the label, but this was definitely an R&B effort; in the future, he would be restricted to accompanying singers and doo-wop groups.

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During January 1952, the company undertook no new recording. Apparently the Chess brothers were too busy digesting the remains of Premium—around this time they were affixing new matrix numbers to two sides by tenor saxophonist Lynn Hope and alto saxophonist Tab Smith.

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Activity resumed at Universal on February 11, with a session split between Jimmy Rogers and Eddie Ware.

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The company had expanded far enough to justify opening a subsidiary. (Disc jockeys, even when handsomely compensated for featuring the company's product, were reluctant to play too many items on the same label in a row.) The first releases on the Checker label, 750 and 751, were advertised in Cash Box on April 5, 1952, and reviewed in Billboard on April 26 (p. 27).

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Checker 751 appears to have been Arbee Stidham's debut as a guitarist (he had been a regular on RCA Victor from 1947 to 1950, strictly as a singer). Stidham, who was born in DeValls Bluff, Arkansas, on February 9, 1917, was the son of Luddie Stidham, who played in Jimmie Lunceford's big band. Arbee had been a professional musician since he was 12 or 13 years old. He originally played the alto saxophone, but had to give up the instrument for health reasons. His singing voice was a strangely portentous, quavery baritone that made him seem much older than he really was. During his RCA years, when he enjoyed a big hit with "My Heart Belongs to You," Stidham often recorded with Sax Mallard. On his first session for Checker, he was accompanied by Andrew "Goon" Gardner (alto sax); Tommy "Mad Man" Jones (tenor sax); Eddie Ware (piano); Ransom Knowling (bass); and Judge Riley (drums). (Some sources put Willie Lacey on the guitar instead of the leader.) Goon Gardner would appear on another blues session or two for Chess, but the label unfortunately made no further use of Tommy Jones' bar-walking skills (frustrated by his lack of exposure on recordings, Jones would eventually launch his ownMad label). At least today's listeners can enjoy Jones' little explosion in the middle of "Mr. Commissioner," a plea to the Chicago police hierarchy to suspend their crackdown on "policy" (aka the numbers).

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The company had more studio time booked on March 13, for a down-home blues artist who at the time was calling himself Rocky Fuller. Born Iverson Minter in Bessemer, Alabama, on March 23, 1932, he had been orphaned at the age of five and was already an experienced performer on guitar, harmonica, and vocals when the Chess brothers decided to record him. The session produced a large number of takes, partly because "Fuller"'s tunes, like his occasional duet partner John Lee Hooker's, evolved as they were repeated. The company tried one release on Fuller: Checker 753 paired two typically dramatic blues sides. Retail sales eluded it, however, and it is a major collector's item today.

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The artist next showed up on a self-produced single for Fuller Records, made in Detroit in 1953; on that occasion, he went as Playboy Fuller. But when he cut a duet with John Lee Hooker, in Detroit later that same year, he'd metamorphosed into Rockin' Red. By 1960, he'd settled on the name Lousiana Red, by which he is still known today, making a single in New York for Atlas. He recorded prolifically in the 1960s, making singles for Glover and Laurie and LPs for Roulette and Atco, and continuing in the 1970s and 1980s for such labels as L & R and Tomato.

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Stylistically quite different were the two other sides laid down that same day in March, by down-home blueman Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. Born in Natchez, Mississippi on February 25, 1912, Spires played guitar and sang with the deep sonority of Charlie Patton and Son House. But without help from accompanists, his time tended to wander. During this period he was working Chicago clubs with his Rocket Four, which included Eddie El on second guitar. On his Checker outing, which was his first appearance on record, he further benefited from the contributions of guitarist Earl Dranes. On "Murmur Low," a tribute to a "big fat mama, with meat shakin' on her bones," Willie Smith, who often played drums in Spires' working group, does the shaking on maracas. Both sides are considered classics today, but when released on Checker 752 they stirred little sales action, and the Chess brothers quickly dropped Spires from their roster.

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Spires would record again under the joint auspices of JOB and Chance in January 1953 He would do another in December 1954 in Al Smith's basement for United (this was left unreleased till years later). Spires, who continued to play the clubs with the Rocket Four during the remainder of the 1950s, made an still largely unreleased session for Testament in 1965, subsequently being forced to give up the guitar by advancing arthritis; he died in Chicago on October 22, 1990.

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At some point during March or April, the company recorded a veteran gospel singer, the Reverend W. M. Chambers, who had made records before World War II. The Reverend was accompanied on his only Chess release by a female vocal group, organ, and guitar. Chess 1511 appears to have been his last recording.

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An artist who seems to have gotten away was one Bill Bailey, who, according to a brief item in Billboard (March 22, 1952) "will cut four sides, country style, for Chess Records next week" (p. 23). These tracks, if ever recorded, have disappeared without a trace. The Chess brothers would not really get involved in country music until 1954, when they started the Chess 4858 series in collaboration with Stan Lewis, their distributor in Shreveport, Louisiana.

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On a trip southward in May, Leonard Chess indulged in a little extracurricular recording, taping two sides by bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup in Jackson, Mississippi. Crudup was under contract to RCA Victor at the time, so, in a move that fooled no one, the two sides were attributed to one Percy Lee Crudup on release. Checker 754 remains a curiosity, as Chess wouldn't get another opportunity to record the durable bluesman.

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After an early string of musically interesting releases that all sold rather poorly and in some cases remain obscure today, Checker justified its separate status in August 1952, when Checker 758 (Little Walter's "Juke") was released. "Juke" grew into a tremendous hit, so quickly that Walter left Muddy Waters' band while it was still on the road in Louisiana, so he could to return to Chicago and organize his own combo.

"Juke" came out of a regular Muddy Waters session, which took place on May 12, 1952. To round out the session, Little Walter was asked to record an instrumental that he often performed with the band.

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From the collection of Robert L. Campbell

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Calvin Bostick and his trio were still holding down their gig at the 411 Club when they returned for another session on May 27. This time just two tracks were laid down. "411 Boogie" is a gimmicky instrumental that moves a good way from the Nat King Cole mold with its addition of a second, sped-up piano line via overdubbing. The side was held till late in the year for a Christmas release, then, after Bostick was drafted into the army, was re-paired with its session-mate "Bang Bang Blues" for a mid-1954 issue, which would be the pianist's last for the company.

 

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A performer who managed to escape being swept up Checker's wave of success was Al Fats Thomas, whose only release for the company would appear on Checker 759. Allen Thomas was a showbiz personality from Cleveland, Ohio. He had been on the scene since at least 1935, in a number of roles. Thomas sang and acted as master of ceremonies. Occasionally he led a band. Thomas was even credited, once in a while, with playing an instrument: "congo drums," in an ad from 1950; trombone, in 1954. His axe in 1949, when he was a member of Smitty Al's trio, was a Victrola horn bent into the approximate shape of a tenor saxophone, with a kazoo for a mouthpiece (Tom Ehrbar, "A Nostalgic Glimpse at a Big Band Musician," Cleveland Call and Post, December 25, 1971, p. 17 A).

Thomas, who was sometimes billed as "the big man with the big voice," had a heavy bass/baritone equally well suited to shouting the blues and intoning lounge ballads. He recorded four sides for a small company called Lissen in 1947, backed the band of one Lee Norman; these were released on two singles (which were announced in the Chicago Defender, October 18, 1947, p. 18). In 1949, he cut four sides for National, leading to just one single. On National Thomas rated the services of a top-grade studio band (featuring such high-profile musicans as Lockjaw Davis on tenor sax and George Duvivier on bass). Both of these earlier outings took place in New York City.

In 1952, Thomas was tight with Alan Freed, who spun R&B platters at Cleveland's radio station WJW. When he was impressed by a vocal group called the Crazy Sounds that was performing at a club called the Loop, Thomas phoned Freed and let him listen to the group. Freed took the group under his wing and renamed them the Moonglows, after his on-the-air persona. Freed sponsored a massive "Moondog Maytime Ball" at the Cleveland Arena, with three shows on May 17 and 18, 1952; headlined by the Dominoes, the bill included H-Bomb Ferguson, Little Jimmy Scott, the bands of Todd Rhodes, Freddy Mitchell, and Morris Lane, and "Sensational Singing Entertainer" Fats Thomas. Not mentioned in the original Call and Post display advertisement, which ran on May 10, were "Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats direct from Memphis plus Arbee Stidham and his great orchestra direct from Chicago" (Call and Post, May 17, 1952, p. 5 D); obviously Freed had made some kind of last-minute deal with the Chess brothers to add them to the bill. "Big Fat" Thomas reappeared as the MC of the Dawn Dance at the Paradise on May 30, 1952 (Cleveland Call and Post, May 31, 1952, p. 3 D). In July he was featured with Live Mackay and The Three Naturals at Jack's Musical Bar (Cleveland Call and Post, July 26, 1952, p. 6 D)

Thomas's appearance on Checker is the first concrete indication that talent was being sent the Chess brothers' way by Alan Freed. (The Moonglows would end up recording for them, but not for another two years: first the group cut one single for a label run by Freed himself, then Freed arranged for them to sign with one of the Chess brothers' rivals, Chance, where they would remain until owner Art Sheridan decided to close the label. The Coronets, another group under Freed's sponsorship, would end up on Chess much sooner.)

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On June 13, 1952—or a little before if the date is for mastering—Fats Thomas cut his two sides for Checker. These were obviously made in Cleveland; there is no evidence Thomas ever performed in the Windy City. While Thomas got exclusive composer credit on both sides, it's not hard to figure out who the mastermind behind Moon Music was.

The single that resulted was, well, eccentric. "Baby Please No No" is a funereal ensemble chant begging forgiveness; only the rhythm section, with some help from Thomas on the "congo drums," plays on it. The flip is a jazz instrumental, titled "Dog Days" on account of the scheduled release date in August. Far from torpid or listless, it is a lively bop number played by an excellent sextet of trumpet, tenor sax, electric violin, piano, bass, and drums.

Thomas had been working, earlier in 1952, in a trio with trumpeter Herbie Francis. Pianist Maceo Owens, then playing in a group called the Four Tones, told the Cleveland Call and Post (August 9, 1952, p. 4 D), that he had played on this session. Owens later joined the Nation of Islam, changed his name to Sheikh Al-Hajj Hazziez, published The Book of Muslim Names in 1976, and eventually became the secretary of Muhammad's Mosque #7 in New York City. The bassist, who is addressed as "Baker" as he gets a well-deserved solo on "Dog Days," is in the league of Wilbur Ware and Charles Mingus. The violinist, whom Anthony Barnett has now identified as Jimmy Lane, had obviously heard of Stuff Smith.

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Thomas recorded just one more time that we know of, around a year later for a very small Cleveland-based label called Hawk, which was owned by another DJ. He did an uptempto blues ("Blowing My Horn") on Hawk 72053 and a lounge ballad ("I Thought I Found Love," also featuring Jimmy Lane) on Hawk 72054. These were explicitly credited to pianist Nate Spencer and his Orchestra with vocalist "Allen" Thomas. These sides were mentioned, with highly approximate titles, in an announcement for a New Year's Eve Show at the Cedar Gardens, where Thomas was appearing in a revue (Cleveland Call and Post, January 2, 1954, p. 7 B). The other two sides on these Hawk releases were credited to "Kitty Kaye and the Cats"; they appear to be the work of the Spencer crew at a different session backing a female vocalist.

On January 26, 1953, Thomas took up an engagement for a week at Club Ebony. The Call and Post referred to him as "local boy who made good when he made the 'Moondoggers' howl" (January 24, 1953, p. 6 B). On February 7, 1953, the Cleveland Call and Post (p. 6 B) ran an item about a charity event at the Pla Mor Ballroom featuring such performers as singer Terry Timmons, a group of boys called "The Hamboners" imitating a recent Red Saunders hit, and a band led by Fats Thomas. Thomas worked Club Congo in Cleveland in 1954, as part of a song and dance duo. After being involved in some amateur shows at Club Congo in the early months of 1955, he landed a gig as MC at the Flame Lounge (not related to the Chicago establishments with the same name). He remained active in the clubs through the end of the decade. In June 1958 he was the featured vocalist at the Lake Glen Country Club (Cleveland Call and Post, June 21, 1958, p. 7 C). In July 1958 he was back with his old song and dance partner, Merritt Stepp, for the Steppettess Social Club gathering at the Wheel Lounge (Cleveland Call and Post, August 2, 1948, p. 7 C). In March 1960 was hosting his own TV show, the Fats Thomas Revue, which ran on Saturday nights on local station WEWS (Cleveland Call and Post, March 12, 1960, p. 6 C).

Our thanks go to Anthony Barnett, Howard Rye, Joe Mosbrook, and John Richmond for tracking down Al Thomas, Nate Spencer, and Maceo Owens, to Barnett for identifying Jimmy Lane—and to George Paulus for locating Hawk 72054.

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On July 11, the company undertook a marathon blues session featuring Memphis Minnie and Blue Smitty. Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, in 1897, singer and guitarist Memphis Minnie was by this time a veteran of the blues recording industry; she had made her first records in 1929 and adopted Chicago as her home base in the early 1930s. As the Melrose combine faded, her long association with Columbia Records came to an end in 1949. She recorded for the short-lived Parkway label in 1950, but the company folded before any of her sides could be released and the remnants were snapped up by Regal. For her Checker session, she was joined by her husband and long-time duet partner, Ernest "Little Son Joe" Lawlars on second guitar, an unidentified drummer, and (on three of the four sides), Little Walter on harmonica.

 

The resulting peformances are highly valued by blues fans today, but the company was hesitant about their commercial potential. Checker 771 included a remake of her early 1940s hit "Me and My Chauffeur," and it didn't hit any shelves until nearly a year after the sides were recorded, when Little Walter had become red-hot commercially. Although it was re-pressed more than once (there are copies with the later, maroon Checker label as well as the original red) and the single was still in the company catalogue in the early 1960s, it is hard to find today.

 

When her contract was not renewed, Memphis Minnie moved on to JOB, laying down what turned out to be her last commercial session in October 1953. In the late 1950s, she and Little Son Joe returned to Memphis. She had to give up performing after suffering a stroke in the early 1960s, and died in Memphis in 1973.

 

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The remaining sides recorded that day were the work of Claude Smith, a guitarist who went in the clubs as Blue Smitty. Muddy Waters, who had worked with Smitty in the mid-1940s, acknowledged him as an influence, but Smitty kept his day job at a radio repair shop, and his session for Chess would be his only opportunity to record. Accompanied by pianist Malron Jett, drummer Ike Smith, and a bassist whose last name was Stewart, Smitty laid down two intense slow blues, which were pretty promptly released on Chess 1522. This, however, is much scarcer today than Memphis Minnie's single on Checker. The other two sides from the session—one of which, "Date Bait," is positively perky—would remain in the vaults until the early 1970s; an alternate take of "Crying" was also unearthed and released on LP. An unintended consequence: the fierce master take of "Crying" is much harder to find today, though it can be heard on a Top Notch CD titled More Ugly Guitar from the Kings of Distortion.

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The advent of Checker seems to have thrown some confusion into the matrix number series. Chess kept using the U7000 series from Universal Recording (though items not recorded at that venue were sometimes thrown into the series with no apparent consistency). Early in the year a 1000 series was opened for purchased material (most of it from the prolific Sam Phillips in Memphis); then the 1000s acquired a C prefix, and the series came to be used for material intended for the new Checker label—even though much of it was recorded back home at Universal in Chicago. (Adding to the overall messiness, the matrix numbers on both releases from the July 11 session were bumped up in error from the 1000s to the 1100s.) Finally, a U4300 ledger was opened at Universal for the freelance recording operations of Al Benson, who was reguarly dealing material to Chess during the second half of 1952. During the first half of 1953, many native Chess sessions would be given U4300 series matrix numbers...

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A week later, the company brought Arbee Stidham back for four more sides. On the occasion, he was accompanied by tenor sax, piano, electric guitar, bass, and drums. The saxophonist has been identified as J. T. Brown, but the performer who can be heard on two of the tracks, though loud enough, is too crude and blowsy to be J. T. Brown. Sugarman Penigar is a better bet. The bassist hasn't been identified as Wille Dixon, but he is a pretty good bet. Two of the tunes were tried in versions with a male vocal group (which can now be heard) and versions without (which are still in the can). Apparently Leonard Chess was displeased with the day's output, plus or minus the doowoppers, for he would try again with Stidham, and nothing from this session would be released for many years. Just two tracks have appeared—on a bootleg LP, Doo Woppin' the Blues, that was clandestinely compiled from Aristocrat Chess material.

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On August 12, Jimmy Rogers dropped in for four tunes of his own. Unusually, he was not accompanied by Muddy Waters, who was on the road on the time. Rogers' combo consisted of Henry Gray (piano), Po' Bob Woodfork (guitar), Willie Dixon (bass), and A. J. Gladney (drums). "The Last Time" and "Out on the Road" were promptly released on Chess 1519. (Fancourt and McGrath claim that Muddy provided backing vocals on "The Last Time," but the company was merely experimenting with vocal overdubs. Joe Williams' infamously double-tracked vocal on "Every Day I Have the Blues," covered below under Purchased Sessions, had been cut at Universal Recording in July.)

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The next month was uncharacteristially slack, producing four unreleased gospel sides by one Reverend Green and another four pop or jazz sides by an artist who remains unidentified.

In early September, the company tried two sides by Eddie Johnson, but they were deemed unsatisfactory.

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Next, the Chess brothers made an extremely unusual early foray into comedy records. One Dick Good recorded two versions of a monologue in which he deconstructed "Bo Peep." In Part I, he affected a posh English accent; Part II consisted of the same material done in a heavy Yiddish accent. Both monologues appear to have been recorded in the studio, with canned laughter spliced in to create the illusion of an audience. The resulting release on Chess 1524, though funny, apparently didn't sell at all and was forgotten for many years; a copy turned up at an auction in 2009. In company files, the comedian's first name became "Deck" and the titles were rendered as "Bo Beep (English)" and "Bo Beep (Jewish)." Chess would not return to comedy until the company was regularly releasing LPs.

Chess got back on track with the Eddie Johnson session of September 12, which produced one of the greatest jukebox jazz singles, a coupling the boogie "Tiptoe" with the swinger "Twin Rock" on Chess 1544.

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The company promptly followed with another classic Muddy Waters session, which took place on September 17. Little Walter was off leading his own band, so the red-hot amplified harmonica on these sides belongs to Amos "Junior" Wells, who was now working for Muddy even though he wouldn't turn 18 until December. Jimmy Rogers remained on second guitar, and Elga Edmonds on the drum stool. After four numbers had been concluded, Muddy turned over the lead guitar and vocal duties to Floyd Jones: note the close similarity between Floyd's "You Can't Live Long" and Muddy's "Standing Around Crying," both impassioned blues that creep at a funereal pace.

While Muddy's first release from the session was a hit, and Chess used a third side later on, sales of Floyd's release were disappointing and the company quickly dropped him from its roster. He would return to his former label, JOB, in January 1953.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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Later in September (most likely), the Chess brothers tried a vocal group called the Bayou Boys, about whom we still know little. Two of the sides were released on Checker 765; the other two are still languishing.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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On October 10, Eddie Boyd returned to Chess after his excursion to JOB and a single session with Al Benson (the latter is listed below under Purchased Sessions). On this occasion, the songwriter-pianist was accompanied by Robert "Little Sax" Crowder (tenor sax), Robert Jr. Lockwood (guitar), Willie Dixon (bass), and Percy Walker (drums). "24 Hours," a classic complaint, and the ebullient instrumental "The Tickler" were coupled on Chess 1533, to considerable commercial success.

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Next up was a 2-tune outing by Morris Pejoe. Checker issued a second single on him, but it did not sell, and it would be his last for the Chess brothers.

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Fresh off a tour with his new band, Little Walter was brought back for the first session that he would do on his own.

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From the collection of Robert L. Campbell

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The company seems to have taken an extended holiday from Universal Recording at the end of the year. Calvin Bostick had put together a Christmas song, which was probably committed to tape in November; when released it was paired with a tune from his previous session.

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Bostick's association with Chess would end when he was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1953. He served two years in the Special Services Branch in Korea. Returning to Chicago, Bostick began a long residency at the 411 Club, which ran from October 1955 through much of 1957. He was now largely accompanying himself on organ. In June 1957, Bostick completed his formal music education, getting a degree from the Chicago Conservatory of Music. On June 12, 1958, he posted an indefinite contract at the Nocturne. He continued to perform throughout the Midwest, and reportedly recorded for Fraternity, RCA, and "Canadian" (probably Canadian-American) Records. He composed songs for Sammy Davis Jr. and his old inspiration Nat King Cole, among others. Beginning in 1963, Bostick began an 11-year career as a lounge act for the Holiday Inn circuit. Around 1970, he settled in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he died on April 9, 1974.

Sources on Calvin Bostick: “Calvin Cuts 2 New Sides,” Chicago Defender, 14 October 1950; “Calvin T. Bostick, 45, Musican, Songwriter,” Erie Times, 11 April 1974; Chicago Public Library's Musician Death Files.

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The Chess brothers also tried a session with guitarist and singer Danny Overbea, which must not have turned out well, as nothing from it has ever surfaced. They would have better luck in the future.

 

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Although Chess continued to keep its issue numbers in reasonably good order, the company dropped the ball in November 1952, when it put out two different 1525s. (It was long believed that there was no Chess 1524, but this turns out to have been the comedy record by Dick Good.) One Chess 1525 was a country recording by Guy Blakeman and His Blue Grass Serenaders; the other was a jazz recording (one side reissued from 1949; the other in the vault since 1950) by Gene Ammons.

In all, there are 106 known sides newly recorded for Chess in 1952 (if we count known alternate takes, but do not include some unexplained gaps in the series, such as U7452 through U7456 and U7472 through U7475). Three sides were cut in Jackson, Mississippi, where Leonard Chess made a clandestine session with Big Boy Crudup (C1022 and C1023 plus an alternate; in a move that fooled no one, these were attributed to "Percy Lee" Crudup). With the likely exception of the two Fats Thomas sides, the rest are all from Universal Recording in Chicago.

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Sides newly recorded for Chess in 1952

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
U7419	through	U7422	See	Purchased	Material
U-7423	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	At Last	Chess 1503	early February 1952	April 1952
U-7424	Jimmy Rogers and His Rocking Four	Back Door Friend	Chess 1506	February 11, 1952	April 1952
U-7425	Eddie Ware and His Band	Jealous Women	Chess 1507	February 11, 1952	April 1952
	Eddie Ware and His Band	Failure Is My Destiny		February 11, 1952
	Eddie Ware and His Band	Lonesome and Forgotten		February 11, 1952
	Eddie Ware and His Band	Unlucky Gambler		February 11, 1952
	Jimmy Rogers and His Rocking Four	Crying Shame	(Chess 2ACMB207)	February 11, 1952
C-1016	"Big Boy" Spires and His Guitar	One of These Days	Checker 752	March 13, 1952	June 1952
C-1017	"Big Boy" Spires and His Guitar	Murmur Low	Checker 752	March 13, 1952	June 1952
C-1018	Arbee Stidham and His Orchestra	Some to Tell My Troubles To	Checker 751	March 13, 1952	April 1952
C-1019	Arbee Stidham and His Orchestra	Mr. Commissioner	Checker 751	March 13, 1952	April 1952
C-1019 [alt.]	Arbee Stidham	Mr. Commissioner	(Chess CHD4-9340)	March 13, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Knob on the Door		March 13, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Love You Give to Me		March 13, 1952
C-1020	Rocky Fuller and His Guitar	Soon One Morning	Checker 753	March 13, 1952	June 1952
C-1020 [alt.]	Rocky Fuller	Funeral Hearse at My Door	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
C-1021	Rocky Fuller and His Guitar	Come On Baby, Now	Checker 753	March 13, 1952	June 1952
C-1021 [alt.]	Rocky Fuller	Rock Me Baby	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
	Rocky Fuller	Under a Neon Sign	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
	Rocky Fuller	Catch Me a Freight Train	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
	Rocky Fuller	Looking for the Mail Man	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
	Rocky Fuller	Gonna Leave This Town	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
	Rocky Fuller	The Moon Won't Go Down	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
	Rocky Fuller	Raining and Storming	(P-Vine Special Chess [J] PLP-6032)	March 13, 1952
U7426	and	U7427	See	Purchased	Material
U7428	Rev. Chambers	It's Praying Time	Chess 1511	March or April, 1952	May 1952
U7429	Rev. Chambers	Me and the Devil	Chess 1511	March or April, 1952	May 1952
U-7430	Eddie Johnson and His Orchestra	This Love of Mine	Chess 1512	c. April 1952	May 1952
7431	Eddie Johnson featuring Edna McRaney	Back-Up	Chess 1512	c. April 1952	May 1952
7432	and	7433	See	Purchased	Material
U-7434	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	I'm Yours	Checker 755A	May 12, 1952	July 1952
U-7435	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Teen Town Strut!	Checker 755B	May 12, 1952	July 1952
U7436	Sax Mallard and His Orchestra	Left Alone		May 12, 1952
7437	Little Walter and His Night Cats	Juke	Checker 758	May 12, 1952	August 1952
U7347 [alt.]	Little Walter and His Night Cats	Juke	(Chess CHD-9330)	May 12, 1952
7438	Little Walter and his Night Cats	Can't Hold On Much Longer	Checker 758	May 12, 1952	August 1952
U7438 [alt.]	Little Walter and His Night Cats	Can't Hold Out Much Longer	(Chess CHD2-9357)	May 12, 1952
7439	Muddy Waters and his Guitar	Please Have Mercy	Chess 1514	May 12, 1952	June 1952
C-1022	Percy Lee [Arthur "Big Boy"] Crudup	Open Your Book (Daddy Wants to Read with You)	Checker 754	May 11, 1952 [Jackson, MS]	June 1952
C-1023	Percy Lee Crudup	Tears in My Eyes	Checker 754	May 11, 1952 [Jackson, MS]	June 1952
C-1023 [alt.]	Percy Lee Crudup	Tears in My Eyes	(Genesis 2)	May 11, 1952 [Jackson]
7440	Calvin Bostick	Four Eleven Boogie	Chess 1530 Chess 1572	May 27, 1952	December 1952 prob. May 1954
U7441	Calvin Bostick	Bang Bang Blues	Chess 1572	May 27, 1952	prob. May 1954
7442	Al Fats Thomas and Orchestra	Baby Please No No	Checker 759	June 13, 1952 [Cleveland]	August 1952
7443	Al Fats Thomas and Orchestra	Dog Days	Checker 759	June 13, 1952 [Cleveland]	August 1952
1024	Memphis Minnie with Little Joe and his Band	Broken Heart	Checker 771	July 11, 1952	May 1953
C1024 [alt.]	Memphis Minnie with Little Joe and his Band	Broken Heart [alt.]	(Chess CHD4-9340)	July 11, 1952
C1025	Memphis Minnie with Little Joe and his Band	Conjur Man	(Chess CHD4-9340)	July 11, 1952
C1026	Memphis Minnie with Little Joe and his Band	Lake Michigan	(Chess CHD-9330)	July 11, 1952
1027	Memphis Minnie with Little Joe and his Band	Me and My Chauffeur	Checker 771	July 11, 1952	May 1953
1027 [alt.]	Memphis Minnie with Little Joe and his Band	Me and My Chauffeur	(MCA CD 380 596)	July 11, 1952
C1028 [U-1128]	Blue Smitty and his String Men	Crying	Chess 1522	July 11, 1952	October 1952
C1028 [alt.]	Blue Smitty and his String Men	Crying	(Chess LP 411)	July 11, 1952
C1029 [U-1129]	Blue Smitty and his String Men	Sad Story	Chess 1522	July 11, 1952	October 1952
C1030	Blue Smitty and his String Men	Elgin Movements	(Chess [Br] 6641 174)	July 11, 1952
C1031	Blue Smitty and his String Men	Date Bait	(Chess [Br] 6641 174)	July 11, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Blues	unissued	July 18, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Baby Stop the Clock	(Rarin' LP 777)	July 18, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Baby Stop the Clock	unissued	July 18, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Blues, Why Do You Pick on Me	(Rarin' LP 777)	July 18, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Blues, Why Do You Pick on Me	unissued	July 18, 1952
	Arbee Stidham	Same Old Story	unissued	July 18, 1952
U7444	Jimmy Rogers	Mistreated Baby	(Chess [Br] 6641 174)	August 12, 1952
7445	Jimmy Rogers and His Rocking Four	The Last Time	Chess 1519	August 12, 1952	October 1952
U7446	Jimmy Rogers	What's the Matter	(Chess [Br] 6641 174)	August 12, 1952
7447	Jimmy Rogers and His Rocking Four	Out on the Road	Chess 1519	August 12, 1952	October 1952
U7448	Rev. Green	unidentified title		August 1952
U7449	Rev. Green	unidentified title		August 1952
U7450	Rev. Green	unidentified title		August 1952
U7451	Rev. Green	unidentified title		August 1952
U7452
U7453
U7454
U7455
U7456
U7457	unidentified artist	Hole in the Jug		c. August 1952
U7458	unidentified artist	Air Mail		c. August 1952
U7459	unidentified artist	Uncle Bill		c. August 1952
U7460	unidentified artist	Caravan		c. August 1952
U7461
U7462	and	U7463	See	Purchased	Material
U7464	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	Night and Day		early September 1952
U7465	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	unidentified title		early September 1952
U-7466	Dick Good	It's in the Book Part I	Chess 1524	early September 1952
U-7467	Dick Good	It's in the Book Part II	Chess 1524	early September 1952
U-7468	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	Twin Rock	Chess 1544	September 12, 1952	July 1953
U-7469	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	I'm Just a Lucky So and So	(Chess CHV-415)	September 12, 1952
U-7470	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	Tiptoe	Chess 1544	September 12, 1952	July 1953
U-7470 [alt.]	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	Eddie's Boogie	(Chess CHV-415)	September 12, 1952
U-7471	Eddie Johnson and his Orchestra	Cool Down Daddy		September 12, 1952
U7472
U7473
U7474
U7475
U-7476	Muddy Waters and his Guitar	Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man	Chess 1542	September 17, 1952	May 1953
7477	Muddy Waters and his Guitar	Standing Around Crying	Chess 1526	September 17, 1952	November 1952
7478	Muddy Waters and his Guitar	Gone to Main St.	Chess 1526	September 17, 1952	November 1952
U7479	Muddy Waters	Iodine in My Coffee	(Chess [Br] 6641174)	September 17, 1952
U7480	Floyd Jones	You Can't Live Long	Chess 1527	September 17, 1952	November or December 1952
U7481	Floyd Jones	Early Morning	Chess 1527	September 17, 1952	November or December 1952
U7482	The Bayou Boys	September Song		September or October 1952
U7483	The Bayou Boys	Sweetheart		September or October 1952
U-7484	The Bayou Boys	Bambalaya	Checker 765	September or October 1952	December 1952
U-7485	The Bayou Boys	Dinah	Checker 765	September or October 1952	December 1952
U-7486	Eddie Boyd	24 Hours	Chess 1533	October 10, 1952	February 1953
U7487	Eddie Boyd	Hard Time Gettin' Started	(Chess CHD4-9340)	October 10, 1952
U7488	Eddie Boyd	Best I Could	(Chess [J] PLP 6019)	October 10, 1952
U-7489	Eddie Boyd	The Tickler	Chess 1533	October 10, 1952	February 1953
U7489 [alt.]	Eddie Boyd	The Tickler	(Chess [J] PLP 6019)	October 10, 1952
U-7490	Morris Pejoe and his Band	Tired of Crying over You	Checker 766	October 1952	March 1953
U-7491	Morris Pejoe and his Band	Gonna Buy Me a Telephone	Checker 766	October 1952	March 1953
1050 [alt.]	Little Walter	Blue Midnight	(Le Roi du Blues LP 2017)	October 1952
1050 [10208*]	Little Walter	Slow Blues [Blue Midnight*]	Checker 955*	October 1952	1960
1051	Little Walter	Boogie	(Genesis 3)	October 1952
U-1052	Little Walter and his Night Caps [sic]	Mean Old World	Checker 764	October 1952	November 1952
U-1053	Little Walter and his Night Caps	Sad Hours	Checker 764	October 1952	November 1952
7492	Calvin Bostick	Christmas Won't Be Christmas (With Out You)	Chess 1530	October or November 1952	December 1952
7493	Danny Overbea	Walkin' with Danny		c. December 1952
7494	Danny Overbea	Flight of Danny		c. December 1952
7495	Danny Overbea?	unidentified title		c. December 1952
7496	Danny Overbea	Early One Morning		c. December 1952
7497	Danny Overbea	Do Right		c. December 1952

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Leonard and Phil Chess continued to hedge their bets by obtaining a substantial portion of their material from other labels. A total of 85 sides are known to have been purchased in 1952. (We won't try to incorporate everything that was acquired from Premium but not released on Chess, because we still do not know the total number of masters acquired, and many that we do are aware about the Chess brothers had no near-term interest in using. See ourPremium page for details.)

Again the biggest single source was Sam Phillips in Memphis, who provided 37 tracks, many of them by Howlin' Wolf. Although there was considerable tension between Phillips and Leonard Chess in 1952, Phillips quickly pulled back from his new Sun label (which was not relaunched until 1953). So, like it or not, he still needed Chess and Checker as outlets for many of the sides that he was cutting.

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Joe Hill Louis played guitar, harmonica, and drums in a one-man band format. His first outing had been for Columbia in 1949, when he cut four sides in New York. He began recording heavily in Memphis in 1950, when he was responsible for a release on the very short-live It's the Phillips label, then a whole slew of sides for Modern. In 1952, he returned to Sam Phillips, who dealt two of his sides to the Chess brothers. A session on March 31, 1952 featuring just his guitar (and Nolan Hall on drums) yielded "When I Am Gone." The original master ran longer than the 3 minutes deemed reasonable for a single, so it was cut, producing an abrupt ending on the single. A follow-up on July 18, 1952, on which Louis recorded with a real combo of Walter Horton (harmonica), Jack Kelly (piano), and Willie Nixon (drums), produced the powerful boogie "Dorothy Mae." Good as his Checker single was, the raw West Memphis guitar and rough sonics may not have appealed to record buyers, and the Chess brothers did not seek his services in the future. Joe Hill Louis continued to record for Phillips in 1952, producing a release on Sun. In 1953, he moved to Lester Bihari's Meteor label, adopting the peculiar pseudonym "Chicago Sunny Boy." After a final session for Sun that went unreleased at the time, he recorded for several small Memphis-area companies through 1957.

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Not all of the Memphis-based artists recorded by Phillips turned out to have the Wolf's commercial appeal. The most extreme case was bluesman Woodrow Adams, who made just two sides for Phillips in May 1952. His release on Checker 757 is so rare that only one copy is known to survive. Adams would have better luck in 1955, when he recorded for Lester Bihari's Meteor label, producing a single that actually sold a little here and there.

Al Benson's freelance activities in Chicago generated 12 more sides. He may also have been involved in some sessions with artists who were under contract to the Chess brothers; meanwhile his Parrotoperation, still in a prenatal stage in 1952, would do joint releases with Checker until June 1953.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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Benson's first session under the new arrangement featured singer Joe Williams with the King Kolax combo including Bennie Green (trombone), Dick Davis (tenor sax), Prentice McCarey (piano), Ike Perkins (guitar), "Cowboy" Martin (bass), and Kansas Fields (drums). The July outing produced a hit version of "Every Day I Have the Blues." This would remain a signature tune for Williams after he joined the Count Basie Band at the end of 1954 and finally gained national prominence. Checker 762 was still in the company's active catalogue 10 years later. The other two sides from the session are not listed here because they were never used by Chess and the tapes don't seem to have remained in the company's possesion; when Benson sold his Parrot label at the beginning of 1956, he unloaded all four to Herman Lubinsky, who wanted Joe Williams material for his Regent and Savoy labels.

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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A new matrix series, the U4300s, was opened at Universal for the Benson productions. However, its exclusive employment for this purpose lasted only till the end of 1952. During the first half of 1953, many regular Chess sessions would be slotted into it.

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In October, Benson hit again, with a session featuring pianist Willie Mabon. Mabon got the idea of taking a Cripple Clarence Lofton number (recorded back in 1943 for Session) and modernizing it. "I Don't Know" became a huge hit. Benson tried to launch his Parrot label with it, but copies of Parrot 1050 are extremely rare and probably never circulated outside of Chicago (see our Parrot page for an example). The Chess brothers rebranded some left-over Parrots as Checker 1050, but it was their release on Chess 1531 that got national distribution. Chess 1531 (attributed to someone called "Little Mahon") was first mentioned in "This Week's Territorial Best Sellers to Watch" in Billboard, November 22, 1952, p. 41.

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In December 1951, Chess acquired upwards of 50 masters from the now-shuttered Premium operation; we know of 14 actually being used at the time. In three cases that we can document (the 78-rpm issue of Lynn Hope on Chess 851, its counterpart on Chess 861, and the Memphis Slim on Chess 860), Chess simply stuck its own labels onto unsold copies of the Premium pressings. Another possible relabel job is Chess 868, a reissue of Premium 868 by the Reverend Robert Anderson (we have not been able to examine a copy to determine whether the Chess 78 has a Premium-style trail-off area). In another case, the Chess brothers decided to re-pair two gospel sides by Robert Anderson: Chess 858 thus consisted of one side from Premium 858 and one from Premium 859 (Premium 858 and 859 were, in their turn, reissues of singles from the Miracle label).

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Premium did not put out 45s, so the one 45-rpm release from Premium stock that we have encountered (Chess 45-851) has to have been newly pressed for the Chess brothers.

Other Premiums could easily have been rebranded; previous discographies have suggested that this happened to Memphis Slim on Premium 850 (though we will keep questioning the purported release number on Chess—840—until we see a copy of this 78 with Chess labels on it). Particularly when Chess labels were merely applied to unsold 78-rpm pressings, we are talking about low-volume releases. More investigation is called for.

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From the collection of Billy Vera

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Meanwhile, there were three releases of previously unissued Premium material: Chess 1491 by Memphis Slim, Chess 1499 by Lynn Hope, and Chess 1501 by Tab Smith. Each sported new matrix numbers in the U7000 series, but there were giveaways as to provenance.

For instance, the Tab Smith release, which paired his effort at crooning (the song was titled "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" when he redid it for United) with a booting instrumental for his tenor sax, shows a scratched out matrix number (WB-51-196) in the trail-off vinyl on the "Love" side. (Why the WB? Apparently, because United Broadcasting Studio had once been World Broadcasting.) Both tunes show Premium Music Co. as their publisher. Despite the opportune retitling of the instrumental side to draw plays from a powerful disk jockey (originally called "Slow and Easy," it was redubbed "Easy, Mr. Benson"), Chess 1501 didn't sell well enough to motivate further dipping into Smith's Premium sides. Smith rerecorded "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" for United in October 1951; the new version was released on United 113 in April, which could not have helped sales any for the Chess version. Smith would remain securely under contract to United until the label folded in 1957.

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Two doowop sides by The Clefs came over from Lillian Claiborne's DC Records. The vocal group consisted of Scotty Mansfield (lead tenor), Pavel Bess (tenor), Frank Newman (2nd tenor), Fred Council (baritone), and Leroy Flack (bass). They usually worked with a guitarist named Leo Carter, but on this occasion the group was accompanied by Frank Motley's combo. Motley was an established bandleader in the Washington, DC, area, having recorded twice for the Gotham label in Philadelphia the previous year. In 1952, he cut two band sessions for DC, one of which was dealt to Speciality (apparently DC's distribution never got past the regional). The date of the Clefs' session is not known with precision, but Motley made records under his own name for DC Records in May and June of 1952.

Motley is hard to miss, as he liked to play two trumpets at once, often in the upper register; note his fanfare at the beginning of "Ride On," and the extra blare he brings to the riffing later in the tune. However, it was the band's two excellent tenor saxophonists who got the instrumental solo space on Chess 1521. One of them was probably Herbert Whittaker, a long-time associate of Motley's. The likely lineup for the rhythm section: James Crawford (piano), Jimmy Harris (guitar), Leonard "Heavy" Swain (bass), and the redoubtably named TNT Tribble (drums). The accompaniment is vigorous and the overall sound on the record is OK, although Mrs. Claiborne liked to lay on more studio echo than Leonard Chess would have thought prudent with this kind of ensemble.

---

---

The Clefs would make one more session, for Peacock around the end of 1954. Motley continued to lead bands for a number of years. From 1953 through 1955 he cut variously for DC and two other local labels, Gem and Big Town, and in 1956 he recorded for Hollywood and Grand Prix.

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The Clefs in 1952; these doowoppers from Washington DC were one of the few vocal groups on Chess at the time. Frank Motley is in the back, playing two trumpets at once. From the collection of Billy Vera.

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Another 8 sides apparently derived from a label in the New York area (a special subseries, in the U6980s, was crafted for this batch). The sides by the vocal group The Encores were backed by tenor sax, piano, guitar, bass, and drums; we have no idea who the musicians were. Also purchased (we suspect from the same source) were sides by Bobby Lewis and the gospel group The Southern Stars. The Tommy Trent sides are among the very few country releases from the early Chess years.

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A 13-side session by John Lee Hooker that had taken place in Detroit was immediately sold to Chess, very likely by Bernie Besman; 1 more apparently Besmanian side was acquired a little later.

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Sessions purchased for release in 1952

Matrix	Artist	Title	Release Number	Recording Date	Release Date
1504-A [Sam Phillips]	Harmonica Frank	Howlin' Tomcat	Chess 1494	1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
1504-B [Sam Phillips]	Harmonica Frank	She's Done Moved	Chess 1494	1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
F-1002 [Sam Phillips]	Bob Price	How Can It Be	Chess 1495	1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
F-1003 [Sam Phillips]	Bob Price	Sticks and Stones	Chess 1495	1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
F-1004 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	The Wolf Is at Your Door	Chess 1497	December 18, 1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
F-1005 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Howlin' Wolf Boogie	Chess 1497	December 18, 1951 [Memphis]	January 1952
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Look-a-Here Baby	(Chess CHD2-9349)	December 18, 1951 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	California Blues #1	(Chess CHD2-9349)	December 18, 1951 [Memphis]
50-226, 5026 [UB50-226, Premium]	Lynn Hope Quintet	Song of the Wanderer	Chess 851, Chess 45-851 [Premium 851]	March 1950	January 1952?
50-227, 5027 [UB50-227, Premium]	Lynn Hope Quintet	Tenderly	Chess 851, Chess 45-851 [Premium 851]	March 1950	January 1952?
UB50-825 [Premium]	Lynn Hope Quintet	Poinciana	Chess 861 [Premium 861]	c. August 1950	January 1952?
UB50-826 [Premium]	Lynn Hope Quintet	Star Dust	Chess 861 [Premium 861]	c. August 1950	January 1952?
PR-71 [UB50-40, Miracle]	Robert Anderson	Do You Know Him	Chess 858 [Premium 859, Miracle 154]	January 1950	January 1952?
PR-73 [91139, Miracle]	Robert Anderson	My Friend Jesus	Chess 858 [Premium 858, Miracle 147]	August 1949	January 1952?
50-607 [UB50-607, Premium]	Robert Anderson	Prayer Changes Things	Chess 868 [Premium 868]	June 1950	January 1952?
50-1065 [UB50-38 tk. 2, Miracle]	Robert Anderson	God Answers Prayers	Chess 858 [Premium 868]	January 1950	January 1952?
PR-80 [UB50-219, Premium]	Memphis Slim and the House Rockers	Slim's Blues	Chess 860 [Premium 860]	March 1950	January 1952?
PR-81 [UB50-220, Premium]	Memphis Slim and the House Rockers	Havin' Fun	Chess 860 [Premium 860]	March 1950	January 1952?
U-7419 [UB50-228, Premium]	Lynn Hope Quintet	Star Dust	Chess 1499	March 1950	March 1952
U-7420 [UB50-229?, Premium]	Lynn Hope Quintet	More Bounce to the Ounce	Chess 1499	March 1950	March 1952
U-7421 [UB51-196, Premium]	Tab Smith and His Orchestra	Love	Chess 1501	April 1951	March 1952
U-7422 [UB51-199?, Premium]	Tab Smith and His Orchestra	Easy, Mr. Benson [on some copies] Slow and Easy [on other copies]	Chess 1501	April 1951	March 1952
F1008 [Sam Phillips]	Brewsteraires	Where Shall I Be When That First Trumpet Sounds	Chess 1502	1951 or 1952 [Memphis]	April 1952
F1009 [Sam Phillips]	Brewsteraires	(The Lord Gave Me) Wings for My Soul	Chess 1502	1951 or 1952 [Memphis]	April 1952
F-1012 [Sam Phillips]	Doctor Ross and his Jump and Jive Boys	Country Clown	Chess 1504	November 29, 1951 [Memphis]	March 1952
F-1013 [Sam Phillips]	Doctor Ross and His Jump and Jive Boys	Doctor Ross Boogie	Chess 1504	November 29, 1951 [Memphis]	March 1952
1014 [Sam Phillips]	Billy "Red" Love and his Orchestra	Drop Top	Chess 1508	July 31, 1951 [Memphis]	April 1952
1015 [Sam Phillips]	Billly "Red" Love and his Orchestra	You're Gonna Cry	Chess 1508	July 31, 1951 [Memphis]	April 1952
U-7426 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Gettin' Old and Grey	Chess 1510	January 23, 1952 [Memphis]	April 1952
U-7427 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Mr. Highway Man	Chess 1510	January 23, 1952 [Memphis]	April 1952
1029 [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Worried All the Time	Chess 1515	prob. January 23, 1952 [Memphis]	July 1952
? [alt.; prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Walkin' the Boogie	(Chess LP 8203)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
7432 [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Walking the Boogie	Chess 1513	April 24, 1952 [Detroit with later overdubs in Chicago]	June 1952
7433 [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Sugar Mama	Chess 1513	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]	June 1952
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Please Don't Go	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	I Don't Want Your Money	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Hey Baby	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Bluebird	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Love Blues	(Chess LP 1438)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Lonely Boy Boogie (New Boogie)	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Apologize	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	The Journey	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Worried Life Blues	(Chess LP 1454)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	Down at the Landing	(Chess LP 1438)	April 24, 1952 [Detroit]
? [prob. Bernie Besman]	John Lee Hooker	You Have Two Hearts	(Chess CHD2-9391)	1952 [Detroit]
1024 [Sam Phillips]	Rufus Thomas, Jr.	Juanita	Chess 1517	April 11, 1952 [Memphis]	September 1952
1025 [Sam Phillips]	Rufus Thomas, Jr.	Decorate the Counter	Chess 1517	April 11, 1952 [Memphis]	September 1952
1026 [Sam Phillips]	Willie Nix	Truckin' Little Woman	Checker 756	April 25, 1952 [Memphis]	July 1952
1027 [Sam Phillips]	Willie Nix	Just One Mistake	Checker 756	April 25, 1952 [Memphis]	July 1952
1028 [18753] [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Saddle My Pony (Gonna Find My Baby out in the World Somewhere)	Chess 1515	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]	July 1952
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Bluebird	(Chess CHD3-9332)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	(Well) That's All Right	(Chess CHD3-9332)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Everbody's in the Mood	(Chess CHD2-9349)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Color and Kind	(Rounder LP 28)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Dorothy Mae	(Chess CHD2-9349)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Sweet Woman	(Chess CHD2-9349)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
? [Sam Phillips]	The Howlin' Wolf	Decoration Day	(Chess CHD2-9349)	April 17, 1952 [Memphis]
C1030 [Sam Phillips]	Woodrow Adams and the Three B's	Pretty Baby Blues	Checker 757	May 24, 1952 [Memphis]	July 1952
C1031 [Sam Phillips]	Woodrow Adams and the Three B's	She's Done Come and Gone	Checker 757	May 24, 1952 [Memphis]	July 1952
1033 [Sam Phillips]	Billy (Red) Love	My Teddy Bear Baby	Chess 1516	May 28, 1952 [Memphis]	August 1952
1034 [Sam Phillips]	Billy "Red" Love	Poor Man	Chess 1516	June 10, 1952 [Memphis]	August 1952
6980 [source unidentified]	Encores	When I Look at You	Checker 760	1952 [Baltimore?]	September 1952
6981 [source unidentified]	Encores	Young Girls, Young Girls	Checker 760	1952 [Baltimore?]	September 1952
6982 [source unidentified]	Bobby Lewis | Leroy Kirkland Orchestra	Mumbles Blues	Chess 1518	? [New York City]	September 1952
6983 [source unidentified]	Bobby Lewis | Leroy Kirkland Orchestra	Travlin' Days	Chess 1518	? [New York City]	September 1952
6984 [source unidentified]	Southern Stars	Surely God Is Able [sic] [This World's In a Bad Condition]	Chess 1520	? [New York City]	September 1952
6985 [source unidentified]	Southern Stars	Don't Give Up	Chess 1520	? [New York City]	September 1952
6986 [source unidentified]	Tommy Trent	Paper Boy Boogie	Checker 761	1952 [location?]	September 1952
6987 [source unidentified]	Tommy Trent	Sweetheart I Am Missing You	Checker 761	1952 [location?]	September 1952
4301 [Al Benson]	Joe Williams | King Kolax and his Orchestra	Every Day I Have the Blues	Checker 762	c. July 1952	September 1952
4305 [Al Benson]	Joe Williams | King Kolax and his Orchestra	They Didn't Believe Me	Checker 762	c. July 1952	September 1952
7462 [DC]	The Clefs with Frank Motley and Crew	We Three	Chess 1521	prob. May or June1952 [Washington DC]	October 1952
7463 [DC]	The Clefs with Frank Motley and Crew	Ride On	Chess 1521	prob. May or June 1952 [Washington DC]	October 1952
U 4310 [Al Benson]	Eddie Boyd and His Chess Men	Blues for Baby	(Chess [G] 6.24810, Chess [J] PLP 6019)	c. August 1952
U-4311 [Al Benson]	Eddie Boyd	Cool Kind Treatment	Chess 1523	c. August 1952	October 1952
U 4312 [Al Benson]	Eddie Boyd	untitled instrumental		c. August 1952
U-4313 [Al Benson]	Eddie Boyd	Rosalee Swing	Chess 1523	c. August 1952	October 1952
1035-A [Sam Phillips]	Joe Hill Louis	Dorothy Mae	Checker 763	July 18, 1952 [Memphis]	November 1952
1036-A [Sam Phillips]	Joe Hill Louis	When I Am Gone	Checker 763	March 31, 1952 [Memphis]	November 1952
1037-3 [Sam Phillips]	Howlin' Wolf	Oh, Red!!	Chess 1528	October 7, 1952 [Memphis]	January 1953
1038-2 [Sam Phillips]	Howlin' Wolf	My Last Affair	Chess 1528	October 7, 1952 [Memphis]	January 1953
U-4314 [Al Benson]	Willie Mabon and his Combo	Worry Blues	Chess 1531 (Parrot 1050) (Checker 1050)	c. October 1952	November 1952
U-4315 [Al Benson]	Willie Mabon and his Combo	I Don't Know	Chess 1531 (Parrot 1050) (Checker 1050)	c. October 1952	November 1952
U4315A [Al Benson]	Willie Mabon and his Combo	See Me Cry	unissued	c. October 1952
U4315B [Al Benson]	Willie Mabon and his Combo	L.A.	unissued	c. October 1952
1041 [Sam Phillips]	Walter Horton	Walter's Boogie	Chess 1529 (withdrawn)	September 15, 1952 [Memphis]	November 1952
1042 [Sam Phillips]	Walter Horton	West Winds Are Blowing	Chess 1529 (withdrawn)	September 15, 1952 [Memphis]	November 1952
U-4316 [Al Benson]	Danny Overbea and his Combo	Train, Train, Train	Checker 768	c. December 1952	January 1953
U-4317 [Al Benson]	Danny Overbea and his Combo	I'll Wait	Checker 768	c. December 1952	January 1953

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From the collection of Tom Kelly

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By the end of 1952, Chess Records was expanding significantly. Even so, the company's total recording activity in Chicago hadn't climbed all the way back to the mark that Aristocrat had set in 1947. Perhaps Leonard Chess remembered how dangerous it was for a small company to record and master 135 sides in a year when there was no assurance that most of them would ever bring in revenue.

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We are indebted to Michel Ruppli's Discography of the Chess Label for our basic listing. We have supplemented this with Les Fancourt's Chess Blues Discography and many other sources. Our thanks to Mike Kredinac for supplying label information and dubs of the rare Chess 1430. Bill Daniels supplied further details concerning Howlin' Wolf's sessions with Sam Phillips during this period, and a list of issues of Billboard in which 1953 and 1954 releases were first mentioned. Alex Podlecki corrected our release date for one of the two Chess 1525s; the Chess 1525 by Gene Ammons was first reviewed in the trade papers on August 30, 1952.

Special kudos go to Dave Sax and Colin Escott for sorting out the 1951 and 1952 John Lee Hooker recordings (see their notes to the 1998 2-CD package John Lee Hooker: The Complete '50s Chess Recordings, Chess CHD2-9391). Dave Sax also provided some corrections to our Eddie Boyd listings (email communication, September 7, 2006). Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story, by Tony Glover, Scott Dirks, and Ward Gaines (New York: Routledge, 2002), is a valuable discographical source on the many sessions on which Little Walter participated. Robert Javors turned up a previously unknown Premium 78 rebranded with the Chess label: Chess 861 by Lynn Hope. Tony Berci turned up Chess 860 by Memphis Slim.

We strongly recommend Nadine Cohodas' book on the Chess brothers and the Aristocrat/Chess label: Spinning Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records, published in May 2000. (For more about the book see http://www.bluestogold.com.) This is not just one of the best books ever written about the Chicago scene, it may be the best book ever written about the record business. Among other things, it is our source for the April 1951 Chess Records catalog and the launch date for the Checker label."

(http://myweb.clemson.edu/~campber/chess1.html)

 

 

 

===

 

 

 

 

 

(http://noticias.uol.com.br/album/album-do-dia/2013/06/30/imagens-do-dia---30-de-junho-de-2013.htm)

 

 

 

 

(http://radioitaperunafm.com/site/2013/06/29/homem-e-preso-e-confessa-ter-participado-do-assalto-em-que-menino-de-5-anos-foi-morto/)

 

 

 

 

DEUS PROTEJA O PRESIDENTE TEMER;

PARA ELE SERÁ MUITO DIFÍCIL,

MAS, COM HABILIDADE E FIRMEZA,

HAVERÁ DE SUPERAR ESSAS DIFICULDADES,

QUE NÃO DEVERIAM ESTAR ACONTECENDO E

BREVEMENTE PARARÃO DE ACONTECER, SE

DEUS QUISER E DILMA RENUNCIAR!

(C R...)

 

 

 

 

Famous people named Earline or its variations

1. Earline W. Parmon (b. 1943), American politician
(Dem., N.C.)
2. Irlene Mandrell, American singer, actress
born Ellen Irlene Mandrell
2. Erline Harris (1914-2004), American R&B singer
born Erlyn Eloise Johnson

(http://bestnicknametees.com/girls-names/letter-e-girls/earline/,

O GRIFO É NOSSO) 

 

 

 

 

(http://radioitaperunafm.com/site/2013/06/29/homem-e-preso-e-confessa-ter-participado-do-assalto-em-que-menino-de-5-anos-foi-morto/)

 

 

 

 

 </